


Serve and Protect

by gryvon



Series: F.I.N.E. [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Friends to Lovers, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Kidnapped Tony Stark, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Steve Rogers, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Protective Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Slow Build, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-05 02:38:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15160634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gryvon/pseuds/gryvon
Summary: Steve is sent to investigate a traitor at Stark Industries, Tony Stark is way too young for Steve to be having improper thoughts about, and everything is not fine.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hayluhalo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hayluhalo/gifts).



> I ended up combining these two prompts:
> 
> 1\. Steve just got a new job as a security guard at the most advanced tech company in the country: Stark Industries. Sam kept on raving about the company and its achievements but Steve, far from being a tech-savvy, couldn't care less. The working conditions were good and he really needed the money. Besides, Steve planned on working at SI until he completed his SHIELD training. Well, that was the plan until he met Tony Stark.
> 
> 3\. After some anonymous death threat, Peggy Carter, the head of SHIELD, sent Steve to protect her nephew, Tony. To avoid detection, Steve goes to Tony's school as an undercover student. Steve end up caught up with Tony until they finally hook-up one night. As they start their relationship, Steve is more and more burdened by the lies he has been telling Tony and the likely consequence of sleeping with his boss' nephew. Peggy eventually finds out and things go south between Steve and Tony. During a bad fight, Tony leaves telling Steve that he doesn't want to see him anymore. While Tony and Steve are apart, the anonymous stalker kidnaps Tony.

"Captain Rogers."

Steve snaps to attention. "Colonel Carter."

Peggy smiles and sits at Steve's table. "At ease, Captain." He slides his tray to the side, giving Peggy his full attention. It's easy to smile back, but he never forgets she's his boss. Always has been, unofficially, from the moment Steve entered training at Camp Lehigh. "I have an assignment for you." She brings up a mission screen on her tablet and slides it in front of him.

Steve swipes through the files. He's not sure what to make of the information. There are dossiers on the executives of Stark Industries and the Stark family, schematics of their New York headquarters and Stark's mansion, weapon specs, personnel files. "I thought we were allied with Stark Industries? Didn't they help found SHIELD? They provide our weapons and tech."

Peggy nods. "We are, they did, and they do." She swipes back to the executive board. "Something's rotten and Howard doesn't see it. Ever since Maria died..."

She pauses. Her face is a polite mask but her sudden, sharp inhale gives her away. It's been four years and she's still grieving. Steve can't fault her for that. He would never. He knows the sting of loss too well. Peggy and Maria were close, almost sisters. Maria Stark's death had shocked everyone, particularly given the circumstances.

"Their numbers are off," Peggy continues. "Not enough to make it obvious, unless you've been keeping a close eye on the company. We suspect they're double-dealing. I'm sending in a team. I want you to lead it."

Steve taps his thumb against the edge of the tablet. He bites his tongue, metaphorically. He's not one to go against orders.

Peggy smirks. "Spit it out, Rogers."

He hadn't noticed the tension in his shoulders until it eases. "Wouldn't this kind of mission be more suited to Romanov?"

"She's already established deep cover in SI's legal department. I've sent Barton in as IT. Your job—the job of your team—is to be the diversion. There have been threats made against the family. SHIELD will be loaning its resources," she gestures at him, "until the threat has been uncovered and neutralized. You'll be interfacing with SI security. Howard has already approved full access."

Steve nods. He can do security. After eight years special ops and two years as a SHIELD field agent, posing as a security guard is cake. He's already got a few names in mind for the job.

"Gather your team. Briefing at 0600 tomorrow. We're due at Stark Industries at eight."

She rises. He stands and salutes. "Yes, ma'am."

Peggy starts to leave but pauses. When she turns back, she seems uncertain. "I would consider it a personal favor if you would keep an eye on my godson as well. Some of the threats mention him specifically."

Steve nods. "We'll keep him safe."

She claps his shoulder. "You're a good man, Rogers."

He picks up the tablet and deposits his tray in the appropriate bin on his way out the door. He needs to find Bucky.

* * * * *

"Saaaaam," Bucky whines as he stumbles through the door, "make Steve stoooop."

Sam shakes his head with a grin and sets aside his book in time for his boyfriend to crawl on top of him. He presses a kiss to the top of Bucky's head. "What'd mean old Stevie do this time?"

Steve rolls his eyes at both of them. He secures the door and moves through the apartment putting away shoes, keys, and gun in that order. "He's being a baby," Steve shouts from his bedroom.

Bucky lifts his head long enough to shout back, "Am not." He nuzzles Sam's chest. Sometimes Sam wonders if Bucky is part cat. He's affectionate to those he likes, aloof to everyone else, and deadly when he wants to be.

Steve is definitely a dog. He comes back to the living room in a t-shirt and sweatpants, grinning wide like a Golden Retriever with a treat. "You can whine all you want, you're second on this mission."

"You want to get up, babe?" Sam asks.

"No."

Sam is a bird because he's above all their bullshit. He shoves Bucky onto the floor, earning him a surprised "Hey!" from Bucky and a high-five from Steve.

"You can either complain about me getting up or have dinner. Which do you want?"

Bucky's head pops up. "Fooood?"

"Yes, food." He pulls a container of marinated chicken out of the fridge and starts the oven.

Steve, being the only other responsible adult in the apartment, joins Sam in the kitchen, though not until after aiming a fond "Idiot" at Bucky.

"Punk!"

"Jerk!"

"Boys!" Sam interrupts their name calling before it gets out of hand. They can go for hours. "Do I have to separate you two?" He hands Steve zucchini, yellow squash, and an onion to be diced then fishes a baking dish out of the cabinets.

"Yes, please, keep that punk away from me." Bucky wanders into the kitchen and wraps himself around Sam's back. "Then I don't have to go on Steve's stupid mission."

Steve raises an eyebrow and shoots Bucky a look. "You want to tell Peggy you're not going?"

"I'd like to keep my job, thanks."

"Then stop complaining."

"I don't know why you aren't complaining. Do you really want to be a glorified babysitter?"

Sam slides the baking dish with chicken over to Steve so he can toss in the vegetables. He washes his hands and then turns to face Bucky. "This a classified mission or are you planning on filling me in?"

Steve puts the baking dish in the oven and starts the timer. "We've been temporarily assigned as additional security for the Stark family."

"What?" Sam has never been more envious of someone in his life. "Really? You get to meet the Starks? I mean, I know you already know Howard, but his kid is like this super genius. It's amazing."

"Not you too." Bucky pulls three beers from the fridge and pops the caps with his prosthesis. "I forgot you were a Stark fanboy." He leads the way back to the living room while they wait for dinner to cook.

"Proudly," Sam says. He grins at Steve. "Do you think you could get an autograph?"

"Howard's or Anthony's?" Steve asks.

"Both?"

Bucky maneuvers Sam onto his lap and hides his face against Sam's neck. "Stoooop."

Sam swats him on the arm. "Put on your big boy pants. What's so wrong with being a security guard? You've done a bunch of shadow missions. How is this any different?"

"Rich people are obnoxious. God, have you seen what those two get up to? The tabloids make bank every time one of them steps out in public. If it's not the old man being a letch and womanizer, then it's the kid partying and blowing stuff up."

Steve rolls his eyes. "They're not that bad. Howard's still getting over his wife and Anthony's not doing anything we didn't when we were kids."

Bucky stares at Steve. "He blew up a building. There was no one in it besides himself but Old Man Stark donated enough to build a half a dozen new buildings to cover it up. The idiot's lucky he's not dead."

"Or worse," Sam added with a grin, "expelled."

Steve laughs and Bucky groans. "I hate you all," Bucky says, though it's an obvious lie.

"Sure you do, sugarplum. Keep telling yourself that next time we're on opposite shifts and you're whining that the bed's too cold without me."

"You're so mean to me." Bucky punctuates the words with a line of kisses up Sam's neck. "It's a conspiracy." His hands start to sneak under Sam's shirt.

"Nope." Sam stands and moves to an armchair. "You've got homework."

Bucky's grin is full of promise. "What if I didn't have homework?"

"Then I'll give you a blowjob."

"Sam!" The fake horror in Steve's voice is ruined by how hard he's laughing. "Really?"

Sam shrugs. "I know how to motivate my boyfriend."

Bucky groans and goes to grab his tablet from his work bag. "Fine, fine."

Sam looks over at Steve. "So, about those autographs?"

Steve grins. "I'll see what I can do."


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't like suits," Bucky says for the fifth time that morning. He tugs at his collar, loosening his tie further. Steve's hands itch with the need to correct it but Bucky's skirting the right side of professional. Barely.

Steve keeps his smile in place and mutters, "Suck it up, buttercup." He's not big on suits either but SHIELD has a specific dress code for this kind of mission and Coulson will know if he doesn't keep to code. He's not even sure Coulson's in the country, but he'll still know.

The Stark mansion is excessive. That's the best word Steve can find for it. He's driven by it a few times, on the rare occasions he has a reason to drive up Fifth Avenue, but the walls don't convey how huge the place actually is. There are two indoor pools and five tennis courts. Who needs five tennis courts? Steve's yet to see anyone besides the butler that let them in. That includes Howard Stark, who was supposed to meet them an hour ago.

"I'd say I'm surprised," Bucky says, voice thankfully low, "but I'm really not."

"Bucky," Steve hisses.

"I'm just saying, rich people are something else. We're nothing to them. We're-"

Howard chooses that moment to saunter in. He has a pair of welding goggles on his head and that charming smile he's so well known for. "Greetings, gentlemen. Been a while. When Pegs said she was sending someone over, I didn't expect the famous Howling Commandos."

"Only the best, Mr. Stark," Steve says.

"No." Howard claps Steve on the shoulders. "None of that. It's Howard to you, Captain America."

He tries not to cringe. He'd gladly left the stars and stripes behind when he'd left the army. "Just Steve, please. I'm retired."

"Right, Steve." Howard drops into an oversized armchair and leans forward, elbows on his knees. He looks like potential energy embodied, ready to bounce out of the chair at whim. "I'm gonna be frank with you. I get a lot of threats and none of these guys have the balls to back it up. They want someone to be angry at and I'm an easy target, but no one wants to go toe-to-toe with me. I'm safe as houses."

He'd forgotten how obnoxious Howard's bravado is. The man is more bluster than common sense but he's a genius billionaire, so he's got a reason to be confident. Still, Steve's pretty sure Howard couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag.

"I understand, sir, but-"

Howard cuts him off with a wave. "But Pegs worries, I know. If you want a guy to follow me around, that's fine." He pulls out his phone and taps out a message. "You can talk to Ed Donner over at the tower. He's in charge of security. He'll get you squared. I'll let him know to expect you. Hour from now sound good?"

Steve nods. "And your son?"

Something strange passes over Howard's face. "What about him?"

"I'd like to meet him, if that's all right. Colonel Carter mentioned there'd been threats against Anthony. We'll be assigning a team to him as well."

Howard snorts. "You want to try and keep Anthony out of trouble, be my guest. He's not here, though. He lives in the tower."

Steve carefully schools his expression to keep surprise off his face. Why do Howard and his son live apart? It's not his place to ask and he's not going to piss Howard off because he's curious.

Howard stands. "Let me find someone to give you a tour of the place." He walks out without another word, leaving Steve and Bucky to scramble to follow.

Bucky catches his eye and mouths ‘something else.' Steve can't argue.

* * * * *

"We don't need you," are the first words out of Stark Industries Head of Security Edward Donner's mouth. It goes downhill from there.

Donner is a middle-aged man who's spent more years in a chair than anything even remotely close to combat. His uniform stretches over his gut tight enough that Steve has to wonder how the buttons are still attached. He doesn't get up from his desk to greet them. He doesn't even acknowledge the team until he's finished with whatever he's doing on his computer.

Judging by the position of Donner's fingers, he's probably playing a computer game.

"It's all bullshit, I'll tell you that. There's no danger here," Donner insists for the third time. "Stark Industries employees are loyal to the Stark family. No one here wants to hurt them."

"We have yet to determine the source of the threat," Steve says. "If you would allow us access to your systems, we'll be able to analyze the communications you've been receiving and make an accurate determination of credible threat."

Donner shakes his head. "We get hundreds of emails a day from nutcases threatening every public figure that works here. There's no way you can track every nutbag down and rap them on the knuckles. These threats are nothing new. No one's actually going to do anything."

"I appreciate the history of the situation, sir, but our orders come from Colonel Carter with authorization by Director Fury and Mr. Stark."

Donner frowns. "We work on top secret stuff here. Do you even have the clearance?"

Steve holds back a sigh. It's like arguing with a wall. "I assure you, we have clearance."

"Well, we don't need any government spooks crawling all over the building. We've had a close relationship with the military for years. There are units we work with for overseas security. If Mr. Stark really feels the need, Mr. Stane can liaise with his existing contacts and-"

"With all due respect, sir," Steve speaks over Donner, "Mr. Stark has already approved our presence. My team will be taking over the Starks' personal security. This is not a matter for discussion. We would like to interface with security both here and at the mansion, but we will go around you if need be." He places his palms on Donner's desk and leans forward. "We do not require your permission, merely your cooperation."

Donner glares daggers at Steve. "You've got some nerve. I'll have you fired for that."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "You're welcome to try."

"Well fuck you too." He presses the intercom button on his phone. "Evelyn," Donner barks. "Get Riggs up here to show these assclowns the ropes. And tell Edwardson he's going to have company on the night shift."

Bucky steps forward. His fists are clenched tight and his frown promises imminent violence. Steve turns and shoves Bucky toward the door. "We'll wait outside."

Riggs is full of apologies. He gets a conference room set up for them to work out of and walks through the access codes and systems they'll need to use. They spend the majority of the day going over policy and procedures, followed by a review of the tower's floor plans. To give SI security credit, they seem to have a tight system in place, though the way Riggs talks confirms Steve's suspicion that Donner is more hindrance than help.

Riggs doesn't mention anything about Anthony, but he points out the penthouse level and a workshop that Steve assumes Howard also uses when he's in the tower. Riggs leaves them with the schedules for the existing security teams.

The tower is overstaffed during the day and understaffed at night. Steve offers to head the overnight. Dum Dum is the best choice to interface with the security office in the tower. Few people can resist Dum Dum's boisterous charm and the few that do can usually be bribed with craft beer.

Jim goes to the mansion with Gabe and Jacques to access the existing security there. Montgomery arranges a meeting with Howard's secretary to go over the Starks' schedules. Bucky gets the unenviable task of doing a threat analysis based on incoming communications featuring the Starks, though Steve primarily arranges that so Bucky can go home to Sam at a reasonable hour. Steve plans to walk the tower looking for dead spots in the security system before starting an overnight shift.

There are sixty-nine floors in the tower. Most are rented out as office space. SHIELD has already run checks on the other occupants but he'd like to go over them again and run any associations the other companies in the building have to SI competition. The best way to get to the Starks would be through the tower. While SI has a rigorous background check policy, the other occupants likely do not.

Steve starts his self-guided tour on the first floor and checks the access points to the penthouse. The single private elevator that goes to the top floors requires a keycard and access code. The elevator lets out in a communal area that looks empty until Steve steps further inside. There's a kid curled up in one of the armchairs. He's small, made even smaller by the way he's scrunched up.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Steve blurts.

The kid looks up from his book. Damn, he's handsome. He's got a smooth face framed by a strong jawline, but what really gets Steve are his eyes. They're a warm brown like melted chocolate. The dirty look he's shooting Steve only heightens his attractiveness. The family resemblance is strong enough that he doesn't have to guess who the kid is. This must be Anthony Stark.

He can understand why media makes him out as a playboy. He's certainly got the looks for it.

"Excuse me?" Anthony even sounds like Howard in his indignance.

Steve raises his hands. "Sorry. I didn't realize..." He's going to be pissed if he loses this assignment because he said the wrong thing to Stark's kid. "I'm sorry. I didn't recognize..." He gestures at his head, hoping to convey that he hadn't been able to see Anthony's face. He probably looks like a moron instead.

Anthony rolls his eyes. The motion is exaggerated and over-dramatic and nothing like Howard. It's also strangely adorable and Steve has to bite his cheek to keep from grinning. His impulsivity has landed him in enough trouble already.

"You think I'm in high school?" The tone Anthony uses to describe high school is similar to how most New Yorkers describe sewer rats and being pissed on by hobos.

"No?" There hadn't been a class schedule in the briefing. Tony's seventeen, if he remembers correctly. Maybe he's taking a year off before college? Sam said Anthony was a genius, like his father. It makes sense that he'd have graduated high school early. It's April, so maybe he graduated in December? That's probably a thing rich-people schools allow.

Anthony narrows his gaze. "You really thought I was. Ugh. No. I graduated" Anthony waves a hand as if to dismiss Steve and turns back to his book. Maybe it is a dismissal. Who knows with rich people.

"What about-" He stops himself. He should continue his rounds and leave Anthony alone.

Anthony closes his book and sets it aside. He sighs, again overexaggerated but there's an amused quality to it. It's hard to tell, but he thinks Anthony is smiling. "Just ask."

Steve blushes, suddenly insecure. He's the grown-up here. He shouldn't be getting flustered by a bratty kid, but said kid is also sort of his boss and Peggy had asked Steve to look out for Anthony. He can't very well do that if he gets fired. "Are you sure? I can go."

Anthony straightens from his tightly curled position. There's obvious affectation to his new pose, all loose and easy and approachable. Steve bets the smile on Anthony's face has been in countless press photos. "What's your name?" Anthony asks.

"Steve. Rogers. I'm Steve Rogers." It's strange giving his own name during an assignment, but Steve is undercover as himself, the plain old SHIELD agent who never worked black ops on foreign soil and has definitely never killed anyone outside an active war zone. SHIELD is good at what they do and on paper, Steve's an average soldier who did his time in the army and retired honorably.

Anthony's grin sharpens. It reminds Steve of the sharks he used to go see all the time at the Aquarium when he was a kid. "Have you been living under a rock, Steve Rogers?"

The question takes him off guard. "What?" He blinks. What's that supposed to mean? "No." He's confused, but the joke is so easy. It sits on the tip of his tongue and he can't not say it. "Closer to Iraq, actually."

Anthony snorts and dips his head to hide a smile—a real smile, honest and somewhat bashful like Anthony's not used to people seeing this version. It's adorable. Anthony looks up at him with renewed interest. "Army?" Steve nods. "You worked with Howard? He's not here, by the way, if that's why you're hanging around."

There's something odd about the way Anthony says 'Howard'. Not 'dad' or 'my father,' but 'Howard.' It's like he's talking about a stranger.

"Oh, no," Steve says once he remembers that Anthony expects an answer. "I'm here to see you, actually." He holds out his hand. "I'm leading the personal security team for you and your father. And I did work with him during my service." He doesn't say where. Those missions are classified. "His tech was invaluable."

Steve has a lot of practice reading people, but Anthony might as well be a statue. He's unnaturally still, like he's waiting for some sign to tell him how to react. "You work for SI? I haven't seen you before."

"No. I'm with SHIELD. My team has been temporarily reassigned as added security per Colonel Carter's orders."

Anthony visibly relaxes. He takes Steve's hand. There's no power-move in his handshake, which is refreshing after the amount of pompous assholes Steve's had to deal with today. "You work with Aunt Peggy?"

Steve nods, though this is the first he's ever heard someone refer to Peggy that way.

Anthony bites his lip and stares at Steve. It's obvious that there's something he wants to say, but whatever it is Anthony keeps behind closed lips.

"Okay. Come with me." Anthony grabs Steve's wrist as he walks past, heading to the private elevator.

Steve could resist, but he's curious to see where Anthony's leading him. Anthony lets go of Steve's wrist once they're in the elevator. Steve instantly misses the touch but he tries not to show it. He doesn't have many friends left and Sam's the only one who's big on physical affection.

Anthony leans against the wall with a smile. He glances up at the ceiling and says, "J, workshop, please."

"J?"

Anthony's smile grows. He's delighted by Steve's question. "Did they not give you basic orientation? Seriously? No wonder you don't..." Anthony shakes his head. "JARVIS. He's the AI that runs this part of the building. We're working him up to full automation of the building, but baby steps."

Steve frowns. "Isn't that-" Anthony pales and Steve immediately shuts his mouth. Edwin Jarvis was the Starks' butler. He'd been driving the night of Maria Stark's accident, killing them both.

"It's an acronym. Just A Really Very Intelligent System," Anthony says. "I call him J."

The AI had been mentioned in the file, but not by name. Steve hasn't actually used it yet. Used him? He's not sure what the protocol is. "I haven't had the pleasure."

Anthony scuffs his foot against the floor. "How's she doing, by the way? Aunt Peggy, that is."

Steve blinks. There's a wistful sadness in Anthony's tone, like Peggy isn't a fifteen-minute walk away in Times Square. "She's doing well," he says. "Busy, of course, but she likes it that way."

Anthony nods. He stares down at his shoes. "Cool. I'm glad. She doesn't-" Anthony's voice cuts off. He shakes his head. "I mean, I haven't seen her in a while. What about... Um, what about Uncle Nick? Still doing that pirate impression?"

Steve bites his lip. He will not laugh at a joke about the Director. "Also good," he says, though he really has no clue. He's not sure Fury even leaves SHIELD facilities aside from travelling to another SHIELD facility.

"That's good," Anthony says, though it sounds like he means the opposite.

The elevator opens onto a floor Steve hasn't seen before, saving him from further small talk. The wall next to the elevator marks it 9 ¾, but he's fairly certain they're in the 40s floor-wise. Directly opposite the elevator is a wall of glass with a door set in the middle. Inside, Steve can see a large array of computers, a partially assembled—or disassembled—motorcycle, and a mess of books, papers, and parts. The door slides open for Anthony and stays open for Steve to follow. He pauses at the keypad next to the door. "This area isn't locked?"

Anthony spins and grins at him. "Not for me. Say hi, J."

"Hello, Captain Rogers."

Anthony's eyebrows rise. "Oooo. Captain, eh? Smart and good-looking."

"I'm retired," Steve blurts. He's not sure which is more surprising, the melodic British voice coming from the ceiling that knows more about him than Anthony does or the two robots that whir out of the corners of the room to circle and poke at Anthony like eager puppies.

"These are DUM-E and U." Anthony's grin is blinding. He pats the robotic arms of each in turn. DUM-E is a large hydraulic arm taller than Anthony and U is a video camera mounted on a smaller arm. Anthony seems proud of his creations and from what Steve can see of their autonomy and the personality mocked by their movements, he has every right to be.

Steve's not sure why DUM-E is wearing an old-fashioned dunce cap, but he decides that's not a question he wants an answer to.

"Anyway," Anthony breaks away from the robots and gestures to something on the wall off to Steve's right. "Here. Proof."

Steve isn't sure what he's looking at. The long wall is covered in framed pictures and art, all the way to the far corner of the expansive room. Anthony moves closer and points at a set of framed papers. He thinks Anthony's trying to show off some academic achievement awards from high school. Then the name of the school on the certificates registers—MIT—and he feels like a complete idiot. He swallows and looks at Anthony. "You have three PhD's?"

Anthony's smile isn't quite a smirk, but it comes very close. "Yep. I finished a couple months ago, though, so you're not far off the mark. This time last year I was in school."

"That's..." Steve takes a closer look at the diplomas. He'd considered going to art school but ended up in the army instead. He glances back at Anthony. There's a stiffness in his posture. His body is held tense and ready, but for what? "That's amazing," he says. Anthony melts under the praise, switching back to the bashful smile that he keeps hiding away.

What kind of response does Anthony usually get to make him so wary? Steve had dealt with his share of schoolyard bullies before he hit his growth spurt Junior year. He can only imagine what Anthony experienced as a kid at MIT. He looks back at the dates on the diplomas. They're all from the last two years, which means Anthony would have been maybe fourteen or fifteen while doing his master's degree. Steve can sympathize.

He glances at the rest of the frames on the wall. There are photos of Anthony with his robots. There's a clipped-out magazine article showing Anthony winning some prize. Steve takes a step closer to read the smaller font. Annual MIT Robot Design Award. He smiles. That explains the robots. The one in the picture looks like DUM-E.

Next to the pictures is a band poster for AC/DC and a poster from the new Star Trek movies. Something familiar catches his eye and he steps to the left to find what can only be described as a shrine. It's a shrine to him. Well, to the Howling Commandos, technically, but there Steve is, front and center in all the photographs, wearing that stupid red-white-and-blue uniform.

"It's stupid, right?"

Steve jerks his head to stare at Anthony, but Anthony's not looking at Steve. He's staring at the large group photo in the center of the wall. His smile is small and soft.

"It's just that..." Anthony blushes. "Howard would tell so many awesome stories about them and there were other people at Howard's parties who talked about the Commandos too. I was a bit of a news junkie at the time. Like, really invested in foreign policy and military action, trying to justify all," Anthony waves his hand at the contents of the workshop, "this. What the company does. What I do. They're real heroes."

Anthony looks up at Steve with something far too close to awe for Steve's liking. He winces internally, already dreading the hero-worship that's about to be piled on him.

"Did you ever meet any of them," Anthony asks, wide-eyed and guileless, "when you served?"

Steve blinks. He... what? He looks back at the photos and oh, right, their uniforms were designed to hide their faces and obscure their identities. Anthony doesn't know Steve is Captain America.

He smiles and hopes it doesn't come across as nervous as he feels. "Once or twice."

"That is so cool." Anthony's face lights up. "Can you... I mean, you don't have to, like, not now, but maybe sometime... maybe you could tell me, um, what they were like? If you want. I mean, if it's not classified or something. It's probably classified, so you shouldn't-"

"Anthony," Steve cuts in when Anthony shows no sign of stopping. "It's fine. Some other time, though, all right?"

Anthony nods. He looks at Steve like Steve's a Christmas and birthday present all rolled into one. Anthony rocks back on his feet. A large grin spreads and he shuffles closer to Steve. "Want to hear a secret?"

Steve raises an eyebrow. He's got to hear what Anthony knows about the Commandos that he thinks is a secret. "Sure, kid."

Anthony's smile is back to the same level of pride as when he was talking about his robots. "I built their gear. Well, some of it and only in the year or two before they retired or were deactivated or whatever happened."

Steve's eyes go wide. What the hell?

"Howard gets the credit for everything but most of the really cool stuff?" Anthony taps his chest. "That's me. Like this. It's the first thing I designed that went into military production."

He circles around Steve to point to a photo high on the left. Anthony's t-shirt rides up, revealing a dark bruise covering the lower right side of Anthony's back. Steve gently lifts the hem to get a better look. "What's that?"

Anthony jerks back and tugs his shirt down. He pulls in on himself like a turtle retreating into its shell.

"Nothing," he says, too quick. "I just..." His grin is entirely fake. "I'm super clumsy, you know, and there's all this..." Anthony gestures at the machines and metal around them. "I bruise easy. There were screws on the floor the other day and I slipped, but it's fine. Don't worry about it." He turns back to the wall and points with his other hand, turning his back away from Steve. "This is the cool stuff right here. These EXO units are being used by pararescue teams. They let people fly!"

Holy shit. That's a picture of Sam and his former partner Riley there. Anthony Stark has a picture of Sam on his wall. Steve cannot wait to get home and tease Sam about it. Sam is going to flip.

He really should ask for an autograph but they're on rocky ground to start. It can wait.

"That's really amazing, Anthony." He thinks back to all the cool tech Howard had given them. Enhanced energy weapons. Rifles so smooth Bucky practically creamed himself every time Howard dropped off a new one. Comms that were impossible to hack. Trackers that were undetectable until activated. Surveillance drones and compact explosives and a whole host of things that could break an enemy combatant's body in ways no teenager should ever know about.

Howard had taken credit for every last one and eaten up the praise. Steve's not sure how comfortable he would have been knowing that his gear was made by someone ten years younger than him when he was barely out of high school himself.

He's not interested on dwelling on that, which means it's time for a change of subject. "So," Steve says, "this is your workshop, then?"

Anthony grins back. "Yep. All mine. Howard's is in the mansion." Anthony shoves his hands in his pockets and bounces on his feet. "You want the five-cent security tour?"

"I'd pay a whole dollar, if you have the time to show me around." Anthony's expression makes it clear that was the right answer.

"Sure, I do. One condition, though."

"What's that?"

Anthony bumps his shoulder against Steve's. "Call me Tony."

"I think I can manage that, Tony."

Tony's answering smile is dazzling.


	3. Chapter 3

"What's our status?" Peggy asks when Steve, Bucky, Natasha, and Clint are settled. They've been at Stark Industries for two weeks with not a lot to show for it.

"I've lost all faith in humanity," Bucky says. He leans back in his chair and drums the fingers of his prosthetic on the table.

"You had some left?" Clint jokes.

Peggy sighs. "You were tasked with correspondence, correct?"

"Yep." Bucky sits up and slides a stack of papers across the table to Peggy. "Have you seen this shit?"

"Language," Steve says. It's reflex.

Peggy flips through the papers. "I've seen a few." Something on one of the pages makes her pause. She scowls at the contents.

"The ones attached to the mission brief were..." Steve pauses to find the right word for polite company. Creative? Vile? "...extensive."

He knew Howard wasn't popular with the anti-war crowd, but he hadn't realized how many husbands Howard had pissed off by having affairs with their wives. That's not a side of Howard he ever wanted to see. He wonders how much of it is truth and how much is fueled by conspiracy theorists and tabloid journalists. If the dates were correct, some of those affairs happened before Maria died and Steve doesn't want to think his old friend has become such a scoundrel.

"Well, don't read this shit." Steve doesn't chastise him again. It'd be a waste of effort. "Christ, the things they write about this kid..." Bucky shakes his head.

"About Tony?" Steve knew there had been threats but he had thought maybe one or two.

"Yeah." Bucky sends the contents of his tablet onto the main screen. There are hundreds of files listed. He opens a few and displays them side-by-side. "The general complaints about the company are only a fraction of what comes in. It's mostly ecoterrorists and nutjobs who think Stark Industries is controlling people through secret mind control satellites." He pauses and looks at Peggy. "There are no secret mind control satellites, right?"

Peggy rolls her eyes. "Hardly."

"Thought so."

"That's what they want you to think," Clint stage-whispers. Natasha elbows him in the gut.

"Most of those threats check back to groups already on the watchlist but none of them a real security concern. They'd target the factories or tech, not the people."

Bucky opens a new set of emails. "This is the shit assholes have been writing about Anthony Stark. These are only the ones that are a credible threat. There are loads more railing on him for being too smart or bisexual or just being Howard's kid."

Steve forces himself to read. The emails are nasty. They call Tony every name in the book and detail what the author wants to do to hurt Tony.

He remembers Tony talking about the weapons he'd built for the Howling Commandos. There had been pride there. Wonder. Tony had created that tech—yes, some of it had been weapons but that was only part of what he built—to help Steve and his team. To protect people. To save lives. Steve is more responsible than Tony ever could be, but he doesn't have this kind of hatred leveled at him.

It's not fair, but the world never is.

"Give me the Cliff Notes version. What's the worst threat?"

"That'd be these guys." A yellow logo stands out at the bottom of a series of emails Bucky flips through. "AIM. Some sort of science institute that's been trying to recruit the kid for ages. Howard had their messages blocked but they're pretty insistent. Run by this guy named Aldrich Killian who swears he knows the kid and has talked to him before. Let's just say he hasn't taken the lack of response well."

Peggy purses her lips. "We've had AIM on our radar for some time. They're elusive. None of our undercover agents have been able to locate their headquarters."

"They're a potential kidnapping threat?"

Bucky nods. "Donner has a few attempts on file. Despite being a supposed think-tank, they're horrible kidnappers. They're only a drop in the bucket when it comes to organizations that have tried to take the kid. A few even succeeded." Bucky pulls up over a dozen incident reports. "There are way more than ever made the news. And it's not just people after Howard's money. That ass refuses to pay."

"What?" Peggy's sharp tone has them all sitting straight.

"I don't care if he's paying us," Bucky says, voice falling into an angry growl. "His 'we don't negotiate with terrorists' policy is going to get his kid killed some day. And I mean it when I say 'terrorists,' the kid's only a few steps below the President on their Christmas list."

Steve blinks. He knows the odds on negotiations. Paying a ransom has a much higher chance of getting the target back alive. Tony showed Steve some of the things he's working on. Any foreign government would kill to have that tech in their hands. Even more if the inventor came with it.

Howard had never seemed like the type to abandon his son for money. He's starting to think he barely knew the man at all.

"I'll have a word with him," Peggy says. It's more a threat than a promise.

"I would kill to be a fly on that wall," Clint says.

Natasha glares at him, though the look lacks any real malice. "This is why you're not on the security team."

Bucky moves on. "Howard's less of a threat. People are angry and want to kill him. It's nothing new." He scrolls through more emails. There are a few handwritten letter scanned in as well. "There are dozens of death threats, but most think Howard's untouchable so they want to hurt him by hurting his son."

"Christ." Steve scrubs a hand over his face. "He's just a kid."

"Yeah, but he's Howard's kid and that's all that seems to matter."

Peggy looks at Bucky. "I want you to shadow Tony. Falsworth is a fine agent but I want the best. No one is hurting my godson."

Bucky nods. He points to the papers in front of Peggy. "Feel free to burn those when you're done. I never want to see them again."

"I'd like to review them. I need to know what we're facing." It's not a task he's looking forward to, but it's necessary if he wants to protect Tony.

"Of course, Captain." Peggy turns to Natasha. "How is your investigation progressing, Agent Romanov?"

Natasha takes over the screen. "I've identified five missing shipments within the last year. Everything from machine guns to laser-guided rockets. They disappeared overseas, most likely to this group." She pulls up surveillance photos of an area in southern Iran. She swipes through photos of a group of men, varying skin tones and nationalities. "They call themselves the Ten Rings. They'll take anyone who has a thirst for power. Local governments in the Middle East have had a real problem with them. They want to be the ruling power in the region and they'll use anything they can get their hands on to make that happen."

She pulls up a picture of a demolished village. The caption labels it Gulmira. "They've destroyed whole villages. It's hit or miss whether they'll spare the women and children. Any sign of defiance is met with summary execution."

"They sound pleasant," Peggy says.

"Very." Natasha pulls up a list of Stark Industries executives. "This kind of cover-up can only come from an executive."

Steve's surprised to see Howard on that list. Howard's as patriotic as they come, or he was. He hopes Maria's death didn't change that.

"Any leads?" Peggy asks.

Natasha shakes her head. "Nothing that's panned out. Clint has access to the file system but there are parts of it that are heavily encrypted."

"I'm working my way in," Clint says, "but it's taking a while. If we weren't operating under stealth, I could bash through some layers."

"I'd like to keep the investigation secret for now," Peggy says.

Clint nods. "That's what I thought. On the plus side, there's really not a lot to do overnights for IT so I've got plenty of time to work."

Natasha pulls up pictures of Donner and the upper levels of SI security. "I'm working on connecting Donner to the shipments. He's in charge of security for all overseas transactions, though they outsource most of the manpower. If someone is dirty, it either is him or he knows who is."

"Dig into his bank records," Peggy says. "Look for anything offshore. If he's involved, he's probably being paid a pretty penny for his work."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Is there anything further?" No one speaks up. "Dismissed."

Steve waves Bucky to go ahead of him. "May I have a word?"

"Go ahead, soldier."

He waits until the room is clear. "He misses you."

Peggy looks at him with confusion. "Pardon?"

"Tony. He asked about you a few days ago. I know I'm overstepping here, but I think he'd like to hear from you. He seems..." Steve hesitates. He barely knows Tony yet here he is giving advice to Tony's godmother. "He's lonely."

Peggy regards him silently. Steve's phone vibrates in his pocket, saving him from her response. He pulls it out to check the ID. It's Montgomery. "Excuse me, Colonel. Falsworth is on the line." He turns away to answer the call. "Go for Rogers."

"There's been an incident."

* * * * *

Steve and Peggy burst into SHIELD medical. Gabe points them to Exam Room 3. Steve pushes the door a bit too hard, sending it slamming against the wall. Tony flinches and the doctor glares.

"Sorry," Steve says, right as Peggy demands, "What happened?"

Tony seems surprised to see Peggy. More so when she sweeps him into a tight hug. The doctor rolls her eyes and leaves with a huff.

"I'm fine, Aunt Peggy," Tony says. He's not fine. There's a scrape on his cheek and two lines of stitches over his eyebrow.

"Who did this to you?" Peggy demands again.

Tony shrugs. "Some guy. I didn't get a good look at him before your guy tackled him. Thanks for having me followed, I guess."

Peggy takes Tony's face in both hands and tilts his head so she can examine his cheek. "You're hurt, honey." She brushes her fingers over the uninjured part of Tony's cheek. "Are you in pain? Do you need anything?"

Tony pulls away and slides down the exam table. "It's fine. It's nothing. It's not the first time someone's punched me."

"Oh, honey." She doesn't crowd him again but she does lay a hand on his shoulder. "You shouldn't be hurt at all."

A complex mess of emotions play across Tony's face. Sadness, guilt, maybe a little confusion. He doesn't look at her when he says, "It's fine. I'm fine."

Peggy takes a step back and lowers her arms to the side. "Punch me."

Both Tony and Steve look at her in surprise. "What?" Tony says. "No! I'm not hitting you."

"Of course not. I want to see your form."

Tony frowns. He seems nervous. "Really?"

"Absolutely. Hop to it."

Tony sighs and slides off the table. He is the epitome of the reluctant teenager stereotype as he shuffles over to her. His feeble attempt at a punch is pitiful.

"Well, that certainly won't do." Tony looks at the floor and shifts on his feet. "Captain Rogers will teach you."

"What?" Tony and Steve say in near unison. Tony looks at Steve with wide eyes.

"Now?" Tony adds.

"Hardly." Peggy runs her hand through Tony's hair. It looks soft. For a moment, Steve's a little jealous. "You need to rest up, sweetheart. Rogers will make a schedule for you. You have a gymnasium in that atrocious building?"

A hint of a smile appears on Tony's lips and he rolls his eyes. "It's not that bad. And we do."

"You only say that because your name's on it."

Tony doesn't say anything, but he's practically preening at the attention.

"If you'll excuse us, Captain," Peggy says, "I'd like to speak with Tony a little more. Can you send Dr. Halesome back in? I'd like to know when Tony will be released."

"Yes, ma'am."

He waits until the door is shut behind him before grinning. Tony is absolutely adorable when Peggy's fussing over him. It's probably been a while since he's had any motherly attention, and that's a sobering thought. Maybe this is the excuse Peggy and Tony need to reconnect.

He certainly hopes it is. He'd like to see more of Tony's bashful smiles.

* * * * *

"What do we know?" Steve asks. He's outside the interrogation room with Gabe, Bucky, and Montgomery while Natasha works her magic on the man who'd attacked Tony.

"Not much," Montgomery says. "He doesn't appear to have any affiliations. We were only half a block away, coming back from lunch at this sushi place."

Steve looks between Montgomery and Gabe. "Both of you?"

Gabe shrugs. "Kid came to the security office and asked for an escort. I'm not going to turn down free lunch. He's actually a pretty sweet kid. Talks a lot once you get him going. Sharp too. He had Montgomery pegged pretty quick."

"Where'd he come in?" Steve nods toward the cell.

"Crowd of tourists," Gabe says. "Tony wanted coffee from a street vendor. A family pushed between us and that guy charged up out of nowhere to sucker punch the kid."

Steve turns to Montgomery. "And you tackled the guy?"

Montgomery grins. "Is that what he told you?"

Steve frowns in confusion. "Yes."

Montgomery pulls a charred metal disc from his pocket and tosses it at Steve. "I didn't have to touch the guy. Tony hit him with this and knocked the guy cold in two seconds. I didn't even see him pull it from his pocket. He just slapped the guy in the chest and wham," Montgomery mimes throwing something at the floor, "guy was down."

"Kid cared more about his spilled coffee. I had to buy him a new one."

Steve turns the disc over in his palm. Maybe those self defense lessons aren't that necessary after all.


	4. Chapter 4

"Is this really necessary?" Tony whines while Steve wraps his hands.

Steve is a horrible person and dragged him out bed at awful-o'clock in the morning, or so he's told. He's spent three days trying to arrange something in the evening with Tony to no avail, so he decided to stay late and try for the mornings when he knows Tony has nothing scheduled. It'd taken a full pot of coffee to get Tony moving but here they are.

"Yes," Steve says. "Unless you want to explain to Colonel Carter why you don't think you need it?"

"Uugh," Tony groans. Steve takes that as a no.

"If you behave, I'll buy you breakfast." He turns Tony to face the punching bag. "Make a fist."

Tony balls up his hands with his thumbs tucked under his fingers and raises his hands in a sloppy boxing stance.

"Okay. First thing." Steve lifts a hand so Tony can see how to properly make a fist. "Your thumb stays on the outside, between your first and second knuckles." Tony repositions his thumb like Steve shows him.

Steve turns to the punching bag so Tony can see his profile. He extends his arm slowly in a front punch and taps the bag with his knuckles. "You're aiming with your knuckles, not your fist." He taps the first two knuckles of Tony's left hand. "When you follow through, you want to tilt your wrist down a little so your knuckles are in front of your fingers."

He guides Tony's arm forward and tilts Tony's hand to show him where to hit. Steve looks up to make sure Tony's following along and is surprised to find Tony staring at him with wide eyes and slack lips. Tony's face is tinged red with an adorable blush.

"Well, what's going on here?"

Steve jerks away from Tony and turns, an apology on his lips, but the man—Stane, he thinks, Stark Industries Chairman Obadiah Stane—isn't looking at Steve. A huge grin breaks across Tony's face. It's obvious he's stopping himself from running to greet the man. He practically quivers with excitement.

"Oh, none of that," Stane says. "Get over here, where's my hug?"

Tony launches himself at Stane, who swings Tony off his feet and around in a circle. Steve has never seen Tony as happy as he is right now. Even when Tony was showing of his tech and his degrees, there was still something restrained.

Tony turns that grin on Steve and it takes everything Steve has not to blush. "This is Steve, Obie. He's with SHIELD. He's showing me how to punch."

Stane extends his hand. Steve takes it and hides a wince when Stane squeezes his fingers tightly. "Pleasure to meet you, sir."

Stane waves a hand. "None of that." He steps back and pulls Tony into a one-armed hug. "I heard your team is responsible for saving our wonder boy here." He turns Tony's head to the side so he can study the still-healing mark on Tony's face. "Don't worry, my boy, women love a scrapper."

Tony blushes and ducks his head.

"I know you just got started," Stane says, "but do you mind if I borrow Tony for a bit? I've been out of town for a while and I thought we could catch up."

"Of course, sir." Steve turns to Tony. "Another time? Just let me know when you're available."

"Thanks, Steve." He pulls the wrapping off his hands and gives it back to Steve. "Thank you for being so understanding. I'll have JARVIS set something up, okay?"

"Sure thing."

He waits until Tony and Stane are gone, then turns and smacks the punching bag so hard it goes swinging. "Fuck!"

He does not have a crush on Tony Stark, teenage billionaire genius. He doesn't, because that would be possibly the stupidest thing he's done in his life.

He keeps punching the bag until his knuckles are red and warm. He grabs the bag in both hands to stop it swaying and lets out a long, slow breath.

He's good now. He's fine. He can go home and pretend none of this ever happened, because nothing ever will and Steve isn't the kind of heel that hits on children.

Steve will never live it down if Bucky finds out.

* * * * *

A soft knock on the door makes Steve turn. It's almost midnight and no one ever knocks at the security office. Tony Stark waits on the other side with a box of donuts.

"Hey," Tony says. He's grinning, not near the level he had with Stane but still warm and happy. "I wanted to thank you for taking the time to help me this morning, even if we did get interrupted."

Steve takes the donuts and stares at them. "Oh. Um, you're welcome? It's all part of the job."

Tony's face falls when Steve says that and he has no idea why.

Dum Dum comes to his rescue. He takes the donuts out of Steve's hand and passes them to Bucky, who immediately goes for a jelly donut.

"Hey, kid," Dum Dum says. He sticks out a hand. "I'm Timothy Dugan. People call me Dum Dum." Tony's eyes widen as they shake hands. Dum Dum has that effect on people. "Thanks for bringing those down. I always get the midnight munchies, so you've got perfect timing. Come on in." Dugan hauls Tony forward with a hand on Tony's shoulder. "What's got you up this late at night?"

Tony shrugs. "I'm always up late working. Insomnia." He leans against a desk and scuffs his shoe on the carpet. It's only the three of them in the office right now, four with Tony. "I wanted to thank you, is all. I mean, you guys are here for our safety, right? I'm sure you've got better things to be doing with your time than being bodyguards."

"I'm getting paid not to get shot at and I get free donuts. You won't hear me complaining." Dum Dum claps Tony on the shoulder then catches Tony before he falls over. "Steady there, kid."

Tony rolls his eyes and huffs. "I'm not a kid, you know."

Dum Dum grins and takes a donut with sprinkles from the box. "Sure thing, kid." He shoves half the donut in his mouth and grins.

Tony looks at Bucky but Bucky doesn't introduce himself and Tony doesn't ask.

"I'm surprised you're not out doing..." Steve trails off. What do rich kids do with their time? He doubts Tony spends it playing street ball or people-watching from the front stoop.

Tony shrugs. "I was fine-tuning the wiring for the Stark Watch. I'm trying to clear up more space to add a mini-projector." He hops up to sit on the desk near Dum Dum. "I was at a good spot to take a break." He smiles at Dum Dum. "Did you serve with Steve in the army?"

"Sure did." Dum Dum jerks his thumb at Bucky. "That asshole did too."

"Did you use Stark Tech? How well did it work for you?" Tony grins. It's like he's bursting with life all of a sudden, the same as when he'd talked to Steve in his workshop. "Honest truth. If it sucks, I wanna know. It's my name on the side, after all."

Dum Dum's laughter fills the room. "Worried what you're going to inherit? It ain't half bad, kid. You got nothing to worry about."

Tony snorts and folds his legs so he's sitting cross-legged on the desk. "Who cares about inheritance?" Bucky raises an eyebrow at that. "I want to know if there're any defects so I can improve it. If a gun I designed jams in combat, that's on me. I mean, did you ever use one of the old Stark Alliance 730's? Bit before my time but there was this defect with the firing pin-"

"Yeah," Dum Dum nods. "The damn thing would stick if it got too hot."

"Right!" Tony snaps and points at Dum Dum. "That! When I heard about it, I took a look and that design was just hideous. Hideous, I tell you. So we slimmed it down and added a system for heat dispersal. Improved the accuracy and ergonomics while we were in there."

"That became the Alliant 7, right?"

"Yep. Started a whole new line. That was before we started seriously looking into major modifications like the built-in laser targeting and the-"

"You shouldn't be here," Steve blurts. Bucky and Dum Dum stare at him. Tony's mouth snaps shut and he looks at Steve with equal parts hurt and confusion.

"What?" Tony's voice tremors, though Steve has no idea why.

"I mean, this isn't the best place to hang out." Tony gapes at him but Steve pushes on. "It's Friday night. Surely there're other things you'd rather be doing. Don't you want to be out with your friends, partying or something?"

Tony pales and Steve knows he's mis-stepped somewhere, though he doesn't know what he said that has Tony acting off. He's about to apologize but Tony stands and flashes a fake grin. "You're right. What was I thinking? I'll just... I'll see you later. Maybe."

Steve stares after Tony. The door's barely closed before Bucky smacks him.

"Ow!" Steve rubs at his arm. "What was that for?"

"You're an idiot," Bucky says. He stands and shakes his head. "Total idiot." He grabs his jacket and gun before storming out the door.

Steve turns to Dum Dum, hoping he'll enlighten Steve but Dum Dum rolls his eyes and turns to the array of monitors.

"What'd I do?"

Dum Dum sighs and shoots him a sideways look. "The kid's not hanging around because he's got nothing better to do."

"Well, yeah," Steve says. "He's a military buff. He's interested in war stories."

"Yeah, Steve. Yeah." Dum Dum shakes his head. "Keep telling yourself that."

"What?"

Dum Dum doesn't respond.

"What?" He knows he's missing something but he has no idea what.

* * * * *

Bucky hates clubs. He hates the drunk people that fill clubs. He hates the drunk, overprivileged snotty teenagers that act like they own the clubs because their parents have money. Tony's surrounded himself with a dozen of the little shits and Bucky is trying very hard not to strangle any of them with his shoelaces.

Everyone but Tony ignores him and he's pretty sure Tony only notices him because Bucky grabs him by the collar every time he tries to order a drink at the bar. He's aware that Tony's friends have no such restrictions and are bringing Tony drinks, but short of stabbing them with the broken stem of a martini glass, he can't stop them.

His presence alone is enough to keep most people away. He knows he's imposing with his suit and scowl, face daring anyone to look at Tony the wrong way. There are a few people prowling the dance floor who have their eyes on Tony but they don't come close and Tony's friends keep pulling him back into their circle every time he tries to go dance.

"Pee time!" Tony announces. He wobbles as he walks and would have fallen down the two short stairs from the VIP area if Bucky hadn't been there to catch him.

"Thanks." Tony blinks too-wide eyes at him and pats Bucky's chest. He sways his way to the bathroom. Bucky starts to follow him through the door but Tony turns and tries to shut the door on him. It doesn't work but it makes him pause. "Come on," Tony whines, "at least let me pee in peace."

"I'm supposed to protect you."

"Then do so out here. God, I'll just be a minute."

"Don't worry." One of Tony's prick friends sidles past with a smile. "I'll keep an eye on him." He pushes the door the rest of the way shut.

Bucky frowns. He'd usually sweep the restroom and let Tony and only Tony use it but he doesn't want to cause a scene. He might as well wave a red flag that Tony Stark is here with his pants down.

Bucky huffs and turns to lean against the wall. A group of girls approach, giggling and leaning into each other. They pause when they see him. "Hey, handsome," the blonde with pigtails says. "You want to party?"

"I'm a cop."

Their eyes go comically wide. They flee back to the crowd.

"Eddie!" Tony's voice carries over the din of the club. "That tickles!"

Bucky walks in on Tony's friend—Eddie?—with his hands obscenely low on Tony's hips. Tony's giving the guy bedroom eyes. They're pressed intimately close which, yeah, no. Not on his watch.

"All right," Bucky says. "That's enough. Pee time over."

He pulls Tony back with a light tug on his shoulder. Tony goes with a giggle but the other guy is pissed.

"Get lost, jerk," the guy says.

He reaches for Tony. Bucky takes a step back, pulling Tony with him. Tony laughs and leans against Bucky's chest. He looks up, as if seeing Bucky for the first time, and says, "You're pretty."

The kid is way past intoxicated. "Time to go home."

"You can piss off," the guy says, "but he's staying here with us."

Bucky levels a flat look at the guy. "No."

He turns Tony toward the door. There's a flash of movement reflected in the mirrors and he shoves Tony forward. Tony falls through the door, his body propping it open. Bucky steps to the side and turns, laying a solid punch on the guy's face. Because he's nice, he uses his flesh hand.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," Bucky says. He's towering over the guy, who scrambles back under the faucets with wide eyes. "Gonna give me an excuse to go again?"

The guy shakes his head. Flashing lights from behind him make Bucky turn. There's a crowd outside with their phones out, taking pictures. Tony's trying to use the doorframe to stand up with little success. Bucky rolls his eyes and tosses Tony over his shoulder on the way out the door.

"Bye!" Tony lifts his head and waves at the crowd.

The air outside is blissfully cold. It's a refreshing change from the stuffy, perfumed air of the club. Tony squirms and slaps Bucky's back. "Hey! Hey!"

Bucky growls and sets Tony on his feet. "What?"

He has half a second to recognize the distressed look on Tony's face before Tony pukes on his shoes.

* * * * *

Clint saunters through the door with a quick, "Hey, guys!"

Steve raises an eyebrow. "You shouldn't be here."

Clint shrugs and hops onto the desk Bucky's been using. "It's two in the morning. No one cares."

"You're really great at this undercover thing." Dum Dum shoves Clint playfully. "How have you survived this long?"

Clint rolls his eyes. "Please. You couldn't stealth your way through a snowstorm."

"Not my job," Dum Dum says. "I'd rather rip right through it."

"Whatever." Clint turns to Steve. "Where's your partner in crime?"

Steve blinks. "Bucky? He's shadowing Tony."

Clint's expression does the strangest thing. He looks disappointed. "What? No! Where?"

"Some club?" Steve pulls out his phone to check the texts Bucky sent a few hours ago. "De Lux?"

Clint slumps against the wall with an exaggerated groan.

Dum Dum looks as confused as Steve feels. "What?" Steve asks.

"The big printer in marketing needs fixed. I don't wanna do that."

"Isn't that your job?"

Clint rolls his eyes and sits up. "I'm not actually an IT professional. You know that, right? I was hoping the Phantom of IT would fix it."

"The what?" Steve and Dum Dum speak in near unison.

"Stark." Clint waves a hand. "The kid Stark."

Steve frowns. "What about him?"

"He fixes the machines overnight. Ticked me off the first few times when I got a work order but the thing was perfectly fine when I checked, then the other techs clued me in. It's a thing he does. I'm surprised you didn't know. Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on him?"

"I'm not following him through the building." Still, Steve chides himself for missing something this big. If Tony's wandering the halls at night, that creates a much larger threat range than what they've been working off of. "I assumed he'd do what most people do at night and sleep." The implication of Clint's words hits him and his frown deepens. "Wait, is he doing this every night?"

Clint shrugs. "Don't think so? Couple nights a week, at least, usually between two and four AM. Melissa said that he used to do more but she thinks the new security," Clint's handwave encompasses Steve and Dum Dum, "has been keeping him locked in a tower or something."

Dum Dum snorts. "Really? Kid's hair is way too short."

"When does he sleep?" That's a question Steve is going to find the answer to very soon.

Clint starts to say something but Steve's phone interrupts by blaring Hollaback Girl. Clint and Dum Dum both snort when Steve answers the phone with, "What's up, Buck?"

"I need a pickup, now."

Steve's eyes go wide. The phone case creaks in his hand and he consciously releases his sudden death grip. "Is Tony-"

"He's alive but he won't be for much longer if he doesn't stop pissing me off."

"On my way."

* * * * *

Steve barely waits for the car to stop before he's out and racing down the back alley to where Bucky has Tony. It's not good but it's not as bad as his imagination had led him to fear. Bucky lifts Tony to his feet as soon as he sees Steve. Tony's eyes are open but he doesn't seem even remotely aware of what's going on.

"What happened?" Steve asks as he slips under Tony's other arm.

"The kid tried to have sex with some creep in the bathroom."

"Not a kid," Tony mumbles. The words are heavily slurred.

"Jesus. Is he drunk?"

"And high. I can't get him to tell me what he took. I'm not even sure if he knows. That creep might have slipped him something."

"Eddie's not a creep," Tony says. "You're a creep. Your mom's a creep." They ignore him.

Dum Dum holds the door open for them. They sit Tony on the back seat. Steve pulls out the penlight he keeps on his keychain and shines the light in Tony's eyes. Tony doesn't react. He's got a thousand-yard stare going over Steve's shoulder. A smile lights his face and he says, no context whatsoever, "Hey, pretty bunny."

For a second, Steve thinks Tony's talking to him but nope, he's looking past Steve. Steve turns. There's nothing there, at least nothing that could be mistaken as a bunny.

"Nah," Tony says, apparently talking to his hallucination of a rabbit, "I like broccoli." He tilts his head. "I'll ask Steve." Tony looks at Steve but he's having obvious trouble focusing. "Steve, you have carrots? Mr. Bunny wants carrots."

"This isn't good." Steve looks up at Bucky. "Get Natasha on the line. She's got Narcan training." He turns back to Tony. The kid's head is drooping to the side but his eyes are darting all over the place. "Hey, Tony." He pats Tony's cheek to get his attention. It works enough to get Tony's head back up. "How do you feel, Tony?"

Tony snorts and falls backward onto the seat. "Fine." The word trails off in a sudden fit of giggles.

Steve sighs. "Help me get him all the way in. I'll go around."

He slides into the backseat. With Dum Dum's help, they get Tony situated with his head on Steve's lap, turned on his side in case he pukes again. Dum Dum gets behind the wheel. Bucky takes the passenger seat and turns back as the car jerks into motion.

"Tasha says she'll meet us in the tower."

"Okay." Steve sucks in a steadying breath. "Tony?"

Tony's reaching for something not there but he hums in acknowledgement. At least he's still responding to verbal cues.

"Tony, did you take any food or drink from anyone you don't know?"

Tony snorts and muffles a laugh against Steve's leg. "Lots."

"Shit." He looks at Bucky. "We're going to need the security footage. Maybe we can get a list of names from credit card receipts."

"They have names." Tony swats Steve's leg. Well, he tries to. His fingers brush Steve's pants. "Silly." He pushes Steve's leg. Steve barely feels it.

Steve and Bucky share a look, then a sigh. Bucky snaps his fingers in front of Tony's face. "Let's start with your friends. Who was bringing you drinks in the VIP lounge 'cause you sure as shit weren't getting them from the bar?"

Tony pouts. "I could've. You wouldn't let me. Meanie."

Bucky growls. "Shit, kid, you're not even eighteen. You ain't legal for any of that shit."

The grin that stretches across Tony's face is wild with a hint of manic. "People like me better when I'm drunk." Tony waves in Bucky's vague direction. "Nobody likes me sober. I talk too much. I'm too loud. I like stupid things." Tony giggles again, voice happy while he says horrible things about himself. "No one ever likes me but it's easier to pretend when I'm drunk."

That is a statement Steve is going to dissect later, when Tony is sober enough to talk about it.

Bucky snaps to get Tony's attention again. "Not the point, kid. Who are your friends?"

Tony blinks owlishly. "What friends?" He tries to sit up and almost falls on the floor, saved by Steve's quick reflexes. "Rhodey? Rhodey's here?" He looks disappointed when he doesn't see this 'Rhodey' in the car. "Where's Rhodey? I miss platypus."

None of that makes any sense.

Steve nearly sobs with relief as they pull into the private garage in Stark Tower. Bucky checks his phone. "Natasha says the penthouse is clear."

It's a team effort getting Tony into the elevator. Steve ends up carrying him bridal style. It's easier. "Who's Rhodey?" he asks once the doors close.

Tony presses his face against Steve's chest. "You smell nice." The slur is getting better.

Bucky laughs outright. Dum Dum stifles a laugh, but not very well.

"Tony, who's Rhodey? Was he with you tonight?"

"Nah." Tony pets Steve's chest. Steve can feel his face heating up but he does his best to power through. For Tony's sake. "He's a fuddy-duddy. Doesn't like fun." Tony leans back and Steve yelps. He almost drops Tony, but Bucky catches him. Together, they lower Tony to his feet. It seems safer.

"You'd like him," Tony says, as if none of that just happened. "He's in the air force." Steve's never been happier to hear fully articulated full sentences. Tony pouts. Steve tells himself it's not the most adorable thing he's ever seen. "I haven't seen him in for. Ever. He only visits for Christmas and I have to go to Philly to see him."

"So he wasn't with you tonight?"

"Nah." Tony lists into Bucky's left side. He frowns and pets Bucky's arm. "Hey, you've got a prosthetic. You know, I built this really cool arm once. It was so cool. Howard gave it to this soldier. Winter something. I read all about him, he's amazing."

Bucky stares with wide eyes. Steve laughs and pulls Tony against his side.

Natasha waits for them right outside the elevator. She pulls Tony's eyelids up and peers into his eyes. "Get him on the couch." She moves with them. There are three bottles of water on the table. She cracks one and presses it into Tony's hands as soon as he's seated. "Drink this."

Dum Dum excuses himself back to the security office.

Tony blinks at Natasha. His mouth hangs open a little. "You're pretty."

Natasha takes his wrist and pulls out her phone to time his pulse. "Drink."

"'Kay." Steve has never seen Tony obey someone so quickly. Tony dutifully lifts the bottle to his lips. He nearly drops it twice then Steve takes over holding it for him until it's empty.

Natasha grips Tony's chin and forces him to look at her. "What did you take?"

Tony grins. "A pill."

Natasha scowls. "What did it look like?"

"A yellow happy face." He leans forward like he's going to whisper a secret in her ear. "I need a pill to make me happy."

"Ecstasy," Natasha says, though the description was clue enough.

"Who gave you the pill, Tony?" Bucky asks.

Tony flops back on the couch. Natasha trades the empty water bottle for a full one. "Eddie. He makes me feel better."

Bucky looms over them with his arms crossed. "Eddie's the guy that was with you in the bathroom?"

"Yeah." Tony bobs his head again. "He's fun."

"Christ, kid." Bucky pinches his nose and shakes his head. "You've got some friends."

"Not friends."

Steve frowns. "They're not your friends? Then why would you-" He shakes his head. "Why did you let them...."

Tony shrugs. His expression is so open and innocent. "I don't have friends. 'cept Rhodey. Rhodey's my friend. He's weird. Doesn't want anything. I tried. Won't let me buy him anything, or his parents. They're weird too. But Eddie likes it when I buy him stuff. People only like me when I buy them stuff."

"Are you nauseous?" Natasha asks, interrupting that horrible conversation.

"'m fine."

Natasha's anger simmers just below the surface. To someone like Tony, who doesn't know her, she'd seem impassionate. Steve knows better. Where he wants to go find everyone Tony was with at the club and break their faces with his fist, she has much worse in mind. "You are the opposite of fine. Any worse and you'd be in a hospital right now."

Tony shakes his head. "Fine. I'm always fine." He ticks the words off on his fingers. "Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional. F.I.N.E."

Bucky stares. "Did you just quote Italian Job?"

The glare Tony shoots Bucky would be far more potent if Tony wasn't drooping sideways and staring off to Bucky's left. "Aerosmith. Heathen."

Steve going to spend hours going over their past conversations and analyzing every time Tony said he was 'fine.' Later. Right now, Tony needs his focus.

He turns to Natasha. "Does he need to go to the hospital?"

"Nope!" Tony says before Natasha can respond. He lurches off the couch and bumps into the coffee table. Three sets of hands catch him and ease him back to the couch. "No hospital," Tony says. "Can't go. Nope. I won't go."

Steve opens his mouth to argue when Tony slumps sideways on the couch and starts laughing at nothing. Steve sighs. It's going to be a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

"Kid's moping in the penthouse," Dum Dum says when Steve walks into the security office the next evening. One benefit to covering the night shift is that he can get real sleep after babysitting drunk Tony until six in the morning. He didn't, but he could have.

Steve raises an eyebrow in silent question but Dum Dum shrugs. "He hasn't left the floor once. Probably got a spectacular hangover."

"I need to talk to him." The few hours Steve should have been sleeping had been spent replaying what Tony had said. He knows he shouldn't take too much of it to heart. Tony had been far from lucid, but there was an honesty there that spoke of extreme insecurity. "Are we all good here?"

Dum Dum snorts and turns his back on Steve. "We are capable of functioning without you, Cap. Go mother hen the kid like I know you want to."

Steve doesn't bother denying it. He's notorious for looking after his men to an almost obsessive degree and Tony seems to have fallen under that umbrella too. It's hard not to think of Tony as someone he needs to take care of. Tony's small for his age. He can barely defend himself—trick with the taser disc aside—and he's so unsure of everything that Steve wants to wrap him in soft blankets and bring him home to meet his mom.

The crush that Steve absolutely does not have in no way factors in to any of that.

At all.

The penthouse is remarkably tidy. Someone—likely a maid—has cleaned up the mess from last night. Tony's in the kitchen, back to Steve while he grinds fresh coffee. There's a half-full pot next to Tony on the counter.

"One of those days?" Steve says as he comes up behind Tony and claps a hand on Tony's shoulder.

Tony screams and jerks away from Steve like he'd been electrocuted. There's absolute terror on Tony's face when he turns. It's replaced by confusion for half a second, before Tony's elbow knocks the coffee pot over. It shatters on the tile.

"I'm sorry," Tony says. He drops to his knees and immediately starts picking up shards of broken glass with his bare hands. "Sorry. I'm sorry." Coffee is seeping into the fabric of Tony's dress pants, but he barely seems to notice. He's shaking so much, Steve is worried he's going to cut himself.

"Tony, stop." He squats next to Tony but Tony doesn't respond. Tony reaches for another piece of glass. "Stop." Steve grabs Tony's wrists. Tony goes unnaturally still. "It's okay. Put the glass down. We'll call the maid to clean it up."

Tony looks at him with wide eyes. "W-What maid?"

Steve frowns. "The maid." He nods toward the living room. "That cleans." Tony still looks confused. "You don't have a maid?"

Tony shakes his head. "Not when it's just me. I don't-" He swallows and looks away. "I don't have one."

That makes no sense. Steve has been a teenager. No teenager living on their own has a place as spotless as the Stark Tower penthouse. It's something to puzzle out later. For now, he needs Tony to not cut his hands open.

He lets go of Tony's wrists. "Okay. Put the glass down, and we'll sweep it up, okay?"

Tony nods and lets the glass fall back to the tile. Steve maneuvers him away from the broken glass.

"Let me see your hands."

Tony obediently holds out his hands for Steve to examine. He brushes his thumbs gently over the skin but no glass remains and Tony doesn't have any cuts. A strange dark spot under Tony's right sleeve catches his attention. He pushes the fabric back to reveal a dark bruise on Tony's right wrist. 

"Shit!" Fuck! He'd hurt Tony! "I'm so sorry. I didn't notice." He pulls Tony's sleeve back to get a better look. "I must have grabbed you too hard. I'm sorry. I swear I didn't mean to hurt you. I just don't know my own strength sometimes and I-"

He pauses when the full bruise is revealed. It's the size of an adult man's hand, spanning most of Tony's forearm. Steve is certain he hadn't touched Tony beyond the wrist.

Tony jerks his arm away and shoves the sleeve down. "It's fine." He holds his arm close to his chest, protecting it from Steve.

The elephant in the room tramples the rest of Steve's apologies. He'd hoped to ease into the conversation, but this is too good of an opening.

He lets out a long sigh and looks Tony in the eyes. "Fucked up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional?"

Tony blinks. It takes him a minute before the words register. "What?" Tony stares. Confusion and horror spread across his face. It's almost as bad as the fear from earlier. "Where did you..."

"You don't remember much of last night, do you?"

Tony blushes and looks away. He runs his left hand through his hair, making it stand up in haphazard spikes. "I... No. There are pictures, but..."

"Pictures?" Steve's not sure he wants to know. He'll find out later. "Can I take a look at your arm?" He holds out his hand but doesn't touch Tony. "Who did that to you?"

Tony shakes his head and takes a step back. "It's fine. I don't remember."

It's a blatant lie. Steve's not going to get anywhere on that front right now, but that doesn't mean he's going to let it go. He tries another route. "Do you have an empty cardboard box?"

"What?" The shift in conversation catches Tony off guard. His owlish blink would be adorable if he wasn't so spooked.

"For the glass. I'll need a broom and a dust pan as well."

"Oh. I can get that."

Tony shuffles forward. Steve stops him with a hand on his shoulder. Tony doesn't flinch this time but it's an obvious effort not to. "How about you point me to the broom and you can go get changed?"

Tony notices his wet pants for the first time. "Oh. Yeah." He points to a tall cabinet next to the fridge. "Cleaning supplies are in there. Should be some boxes too, but they're broken down for recycling."

"I can reassemble them. Go on."

Steve watches as Tony carefully steps around the glass. As soon as Tony is clear, Steve makes for the cabinet. He's glad for the thick soles of his boots, though he tries not to step on the glass. He doesn't want to crush it and make it even harder to pick up. He sweeps the glass into a folded box and closes it before dumping the whole thing in the trash. There's a hand vac in the closet so he goes over the tile with it to get any lingering fragments.

"You don't have to do that," Tony says. He's changed into a clean pair of jeans and replaced his button-up with an over-sized MIT hoodie. He holds himself like someone wounded. He's hunched in on himself in an attempt to protect his core. His arms hang at his sides but they keep twitching toward each other. He wants to cross his arms but he's making an effort to appear at ease.

Steve puts the vacuum away and leans against the kitchen island. "Do you want to tell me who did that to you?"

Tony looks at the carpet. His hands are swallowed by the long sleeves of the hoodie. Only the tips of his fingers poke out as he twists the fabric at the cuffs. "No one. It was an accident. It's fine."

"I know you're lying." Tony visibly stiffens. "You told us what fine stands for last night after Bucky pulled you out of that club. Do you remember what happened?"

Tony shakes his head. He doesn't look at Steve.

"You were drunk and high. Bucky stopped some guy from taking advantage of you in the bathroom. What were you thinking? You came really close to overdosing. You could have died."

Tony shrugs. That's the extent of his reaction. Steve tells him that he almost died and he shrugs.

"Do you not care?" Steve's tone is too harsh. Tony flinches again and Steve feels like an asshole. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be berating you. I'm not your father."

Tony pales. It's a dead giveaway, but of what? He knows Tony didn't have that bruise on his arm last night. Natasha had checked his arms in case he'd injected anything. He'd been clean, no bruises.

"Why are you here?" Tony's voice is a mix of sullen and cross.

Steve knows an obvious change of topic when he sees one. "Because I'm concerned. This," Steve's gesture encompasses all of Tony's hunched form, "is only making me more concerned. Tony, if someone's hurting you, you need to tell me. I can help you."

Tony's laugh hurts to hear. "No, you can't. You really can't."

"At least have someone look at your arm. I'm guessing you're injured elsewhere too? Your shoulder? When I touched you there, did I hurt you?"

Tony looks at him with terror. He shakes his head but his lips are pressed tightly closed.

Steve steps around the island. He gives Tony points for bravery. It's obvious he wants to run, but he stands his ground. Steve telegraphs his moves. He makes sure Tony is aware of his approach. He doesn't stop until he's standing next to Tony.

He raises his arms and Tony flinches. He doesn't try to block any blows—not that Steve is planning to hit him. It's like he's given up, like he's prepared to quietly take whatever Steve throws at him. Steve pulls Tony into a loose, gentle hug. The move surprises Tony. He holds absolutely still. Steve doesn't let go. He's content to wait as long as Tony needs.

He doesn't have to wait long. Tony deflates in bits. The tension leaves his shoulders. He lets his arms relax. His head drops to Steve's chest, followed slowly by the rest of his body until he's leaning into Steve. Tony doesn't hug back but Steve doesn't mind. He tightens his hold a little and pulls Tony more firmly to him.

"It's okay," Steve says. "I've got you."

A shudder runs through Tony. He shakes his head in quick dismissal.

"It's okay. I'm here for you."

Tony lingers in Steve's hold for another minute and then slowly pushes Steve away. Tears wet the corners of Tony's eyes, but he doesn't cry.

"You should go," Tony says, though his tone suggests that Tony wants the opposite.

"If that's what you want. Can I send Bucky up to check your arm?"

"God, no." The quick refusal startles them both. Tony turns and drops onto the couch. "I mean, I know I'm the last person he wants to see."

Steve leans against the arm of the chair closest to Tony. "Why do you think that? You're not the first person that's thrown up on his shoes."

Tony looks at him and frowns. "I threw up on him?" He groans and shoves his hands into his hair, turning it into even more of an unruly mess. "No, I meant because of the pictures."

It's Steve's turn to be confused. "Huh?"

Tony sighs and pushes off the couch. He marches into his bedroom and returns with a tablet. He holds it out without looking at it, his gaze firmly fixed on the opposite wall. "If he has a girlfriend or a boyfriend, I can talk to them, let them know we're not a thing."

Steve has no idea what Tony's referencing. He takes the tablet and scans the gossip site that's open in the browser. There's a picture of Bucky front and center, pulling Tony out of the bathroom at De Lux. The bathroom door is partially closed but the guy Bucky had caught Tony with is clear in the background, cowering on the floor and holding his hand over a black eye. The caption reads 'Stark's Jealous Lover Packs a Punch! Boys Beware This Brooding Menace!'

Steve tries to hold it in. He really does. But Tony's face is distorted in a blur and Bucky's practically frothing at the mouth in that shot while the dumb asshole in the bathroom looks so surprised. It's ridiculous, especially considering Bucky's former black ops and could have disemboweled the guy with a pen. He busts out laughing, only barely smothering it behind one hand.

"Can I forward this? His sisters are going to die."

Tony looks surprised, but he nods. Steve emails the article to himself then hands Tony back the tablet. Steve can't wait to send it to everyone Bucky knows.

"You're not... mad?" Tony's tone kills Steve's laughter instantly.

Steve takes Tony's hand in his, careful to keep the touch light. "No, Tony. Of course not. No one believes those rags."

Tony turns away again and mutters, "They do when the story's about me."

"Well, Sam knows it's not true." He squeezes Tony's shoulder. "But if he has any doubts, then I'll set him straight, all right?"

Tony nods. He opens his mouth to say something. Then Steve notices the tiny red dot weaving over Tony's chest and he reacts without thinking.

"Tony, get down."

He leaps. Glass breaks behind him. Something whizzes past his ear. It stings but he's focused on covering Tony with his body.

"What...?"

"Move." Steve kicks the coffee table over and shoves Tony up and forward. "Get behind the couch." Tony rolls over and crawls around the side of the couch. Steve follows. He keeps one hand on Tony's back, holding Tony low to the ground while he surveys their options. There's open space on either side of them. The shooter has clear view of the elevator and the doors to the bedrooms. The kitchen has cover but they have to run across the space in front of the elevator to get there.

"Stay down." Steve pulls out his phone and hits Bucky's speed dial. He doesn't give Bucky a second to get a word in. As soon as the other end picks up, he says, "Active sniper targeting the penthouse." He doesn't need to see Bucky to know his entire demeanor changes, going from SHIELD Agent Bucky to Winter Solider like putting on a glove.

"Affirmative." The call ends.

"What do we do?" Tony's voice cracks with fear.

"We're going to sit right here until the cavalry arrives."

The TV shatters. There's a hole the size of a Steve's fist in the center of the screen.

Tony whimpers and curls into a ball, hands over his head.

"Come here." Steve pulls Tony to him. He settles Tony's head in his lap and rests a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"What about you? I... Shouldn't we..."

"I'm the one wearing a ballistic vest, Tony." He peers around the side of the couch. All he can see is open sky. He has no idea where the shot could have come from.

The elevator opens, spewing out Dum Dum and three SI security guards all in full tactical. Dum Dum marches forward with a riot shield. Steve shoves Tony behind it and runs to safety behind the other guards. He waits while Dum Dum walks them back to the elevator. He covers the doorway long enough for Steve to pull Tony inside. Dum Dum stays. Another guard joins them and presses the button for the floor with the panic room.

Tony's breathing is becoming increasingly erratic. His eyes are wide and he's not focusing.

"Tony." Steve moves to fill Tony's field of vision. "Hey, look at me, Tony. You're all right. You're safe. You're not hurt, are you?"

Tony's hand trembles as he reaches for Steve's head. "You're bleeding. Your ear..."

Steve frowns. He doesn't even register the pain. He touches his right ear. His fingers come away with blood but it doesn't feel like anything's missing.

The guard—Kenny, nice guy, three kids with a fourth on the way, works doubles as much as he can to save for his kids' college funds—bends the top of Steve's ear to take a look. "Bullet must have winged you. You got a little notch right around here." He taps the helix. "Bloody, but not life threatening."

"Thanks."

He'll worry about vanity later. Right now, he needs to get Tony somewhere secure and then find out who the hell is responsible. If he's lucky, he might even get to punch someone.

* * * * *

"What do we know?" Steve says as he marches into the security office.

"I'd like to know as well." Stane is leaning over one of the SI guards, going over feeds from inside the tower.

Bucky crosses his arms and leans against the wall. It's strange seeing him in tactical gear without the full Winter Soldier setup. "Shooter's dead. He was nesting two blocks down. Caught him on the way out. I got him in the leg when he was fleeing down an alley but he offed himself. Cyanide capsule. Who does that? This isn't some dime-store novel."

Steve knows exactly the kind of organization that encourages their agents to kill themselves with cyanide. He'd thought he'd left HYDRA behind overseas. Apparently not.

Stane is sharper than he looks. He folds his arms and stares at Steve. "If you know who did this..."

Steve hesitates. If he were in Stane's place, he'd want to know the truth. "Not exactly. There are a few organizations that fit the bill."

Bucky cuts in before Stane can ask more questions. "SHIELD's securing the scene and handling cleanup. If he has anything on him that ties him to a known organization, they'll find it."

Stane nods sharply. "Keep me updated. What can we do now to protect Tony?"

"He'll need moved," Steve says. "Different rooms on a secure floor. The shooter didn't get inside the building, which means he's safer here than anywhere else." Short of a SHIELD facility, that is, but he knows Stane isn't going to accept that. "Something interior, no windows, if you have anything like that."

"I'll talk to facilities." Stane starts for the door and pauses. He turns and puts a hand on Steve's shoulder. His stern expression melts into one full of concern. "How's he doing? He's not hurt?"

Steve shakes his head. "No sure. We kept him safe. He's shaken up, but no physical damage."

Stane squeezes Steve's shoulder a bit harder than necessary. "That's great. I'm really starting to owe you one. Keep up the good work."

"Just doing our job, sir."

Stane leave with a backward wave. He turns to Dum Dum. "Sit rep?"

"Not much to tell. Waiting on SHIELD for most of it. We've been going through the cameras but nothing has a good angle."

Steve's phone beeps with an incoming text. So does Bucky's. He hits the power button to check who it's from. Peggy's calling them in.

"We've got a briefing." Bucky pushes off the wall and leaves. Steve hesitates. "Hey, Dum Dum, can you pull up footage of the private elevator last night? I want to know everyone that was in the penthouse today."

Dum Dum looks at him with confusion. "We already reviewed that tape after the shot. It's just been you, the kid, and Howard."

It's like puzzle pieces snapping in place in his mind. He doesn't like the picture they form. He needs proof before he can proceed.

"Pull up the tape of the penthouse after Howard gets there."

The footage cuts out before Howard gets off the elevator. Dum Dum tries a couple commands but nothing helps. "That's not supposed to happen."

Steve frowns. "I gathered that." Bucky's better at digital forensics. "Send a copy of that to Bucky."

This really doesn't help Howard's case.

Steve leans in and drops his voice low. "I want you to keep this between us. See if you can find other malfunctions. I want to know who was there, where, and when."

"Got it, boss."

Steve has to force himself out of the tower. He doesn't want to leave Tony there. He tells himself it's the safest place Tony can be but he knows it's not. Not when Howard can walk in any time.

They get a block away when Dum Dum calls. "Get your asses back here," Dum Dum says, voice rough with tension.

Steve goes numb. "What happened? Is Tony-"

"Kid's fine. It's Donner. They found him in his office. He hung himself, Steve. I'm going through his computer now and there's some pretty damning stuff."

"On our way." He motions for Bucky to turn around. He hands up and calls Peggy. "We've got a situation."

* * * * *

It's one in the morning by the time they all convene at SHIELD Headquarters. The files they found on Donner's computer tie him to the missing weapons. There are shipment schedules, encoded communications, complete manifests of what was sold. Clint finds an offshore account in Donner's name that has large deposits a week before and after each shipment. He's got a novel-length tirade on why he hates Tony Stark, with entries going back over a decade.

"It stinks," Natasha says. She stands with her hands flat on the table and glares at the screen.

"What do you mean?" Peggy asks, not contradicting but questioning. They all know better than to question Natasha's gut.

"It's too neat. Too perfect. Someone packaged this up and tied it with a box for us to find."

Bucky nods. "I had dealings with Donner. He's not the kind of guy to lay on the line for something like this. He would have taken the first cushy deal that came his way and sung like a birdie. You know he didn't do all that alone. No way."

"Leads?" Peggy looks at the group.

Clint leans forward. "Whoever planted it might have left tracks. Made a mistake. There's got to be something."

"I'd like to monitor all communication coming in to and going out of the tower."

Peggy nods. "Coulson will get you a team." She turns to Steve. "Rogers?"

"There's an anomaly on the security feed. I had Dum Dum send it to Bucky. He's looking for more."

"Tell him he has access to whatever resources he needs. I want more agents in the tower. An assassination attempt is reason enough." She turns to the screen and frowns. If this is the stuff someone wanted them to find, Steve can only imagine what's still hidden. "Anything to add?" Her gaze sweeps all of them.

"No, ma'am."

"Then get to work."


	6. Chapter 6

Sam almost gets to sit down when someone knocks on the door. He rolls his eyes. "Did you forget your keys again, Buck?"

He pulls open the door to find a teenager huddled in a soaked hoodie. Sam blinks. He knew it'd been raining but he hadn't thought it was that bad. He hopes Bucky grabbed an umbrella. "Um. Can I help you?"

The kid fidgets. He looks up at Sam and then away. Sunglasses cover the kid's eyes but the rest of his expression is closed off. Long fingers twist the cuffs of the hoodie. His skin is almost translucent from the cold. Sam can't help breaking into counselor mode. He catalogs anxiety, wariness, and a hesitance to trust.

Sam steps back, giving the kid a clear path into the apartment. "Do you want to come in?"

The kid doesn't move. Well, aside from shivering and dripping on the hall carpet. Sam's patient. After a few seconds, the kid speaks. "Is Steve here?"

Sam melts. Steve tends to pick up strays. Sam's pretty sure most of Steve's unit had been strays hand-picked out of other branches of the service. Sam's not much better. He's got his own set of special cases at the VA. Something about this kid makes Sam want to wrap him in warm blankets and feed him pie and hot cocoa.

"Steve went to pick up pizza." The kid shifts on his feet like he's getting ready to run. "You can wait inside. He won't be long. I can get you some dry clothes, maybe a blanket. What kind of pizza do you like?"

The kid startles and folds into himself. The offer obviously surprises him, though Sam can partially understand. Few people go out for pizza at four in the morning. Sam's almost tempted to break out some chocolate to lure the kid in. He doesn't think cans of tuna work on humans.

He sticks his hand out. "I'm Sam, by the way. Steve's roommate. Well, I'm also Bucky's boyfriend. Do you know Bucky?"

The kid shakes Sam's hand on reflex. Manners have been drilled into him. He doesn't linger in the touch. He pulls his hand back into his hoodie until only his fingers stick out. Sam's starting to wonder if he's going to be stuck standing in the doorway until Steve gets back.

"You look pretty cold..." He deliberately leaves the sentence hanging, waiting for a name.

"Tony," the kid—Tony—says. He slips through the doorway, leaving as much room as possible between them. "I'm cold."

"Let's do something about that. Come on."

Sam leads Tony to the bathroom. Despite being a household of men, there's a large number of soaps and shower gels and hair products filling the edge of the sink and tub. At least no one's left underwear lying out today.

"Sorry for the mess." He eyes Tony. It's hard to tell exactly how skinny he is through the baggy clothing, but Steve and Bucky are both too large to have anything for Tony to wear. "I should have something that will fit you. The towels there are clean." He points to the folded piles on the shelves over the toilet. "If you throw your wet things in the tub, I can put them in the dryer for you."

Tony nods. Sam leaves to grab a clean pair of sweats and a t-shirt from his dresser. Tony hasn't moved by the time Sam gets back.

"I'm going to leave these here." Sam shows Tony the clothes and sets them on the sink. He doesn't want to crowd Tony in the bathroom. He's careful to leave room for Tony to get out if he needs to. "I'll be down the hall if you need anything. Can I get you something to drink? Water, soda..."

"Coffee?" Tony's voice is rough. Sam would bet from crying or something worse.

"Cream or sugar?"

Tony shakes his head.

"Okay. One black coffee coming up. I'll be," he waves toward the living room and closes the door, giving Tony some privacy.

As soon as he's in the kitchen with a fresh pot of coffee brewing, he pulls out his phone and shoots Steve a text. _Tony's here._ They've been gone roughly fifteen minutes so they should be back soon, assuming they don't get caught in heavy rain like Tony had.

He sets a cup of coffee and a plate of cookies from Bucky's not-so-secret stash on the coffee table. He turns to grab drinks for when Steve and Bucky get back but stops when he sees Tony lingering in the hall.

"Hey." Sam smiles. "You want to sit down?"

Tony glances at him in a short jerk of his head. It's enough for Sam to spot the bruise covering half Tony's face. He doesn't react. Tony doesn't need Sam making a fuss. Suddenly the kid's wariness makes a whole lot of sense.

"You can sit," Sam says. "Steve'll be a few more minutes." He goes back into the kitchen and digs in the freezer for a bag of peas.

When he returns, Tony's perched on the edge of the couch. His left hand holds his right arm close to his chest. There's more deep bruising there. He looks small in the borrowed clothes. He reminds Sam of the pictures of Steve when he was young.

Tony hasn't touched the coffee or the cookies so Sam slides those to the side and sits on the coffee table opposite Tony. He offers the bag of frozen peas without comment. Tony's face scrunches in confusion.

"For your eye," Sam says. "It'll help with the swelling."

Tony licks his lips. He doesn't look up. "Can you... Can you set it down? Please?"

"Sure thing." He puts the peas on the arm of the couch. Tony watches Sam move. He waits until Sam's back in his own personal bubble before picking up the peas and pressing it against his face.

There's something wrong with Tony's arm. "Can I take a look at your arm?" he asks.

Tony shakes his head. "It's fine." The quick denial is a big red flag for abuse.

Sam carefully measures his voice so that it's calm and unthreatening. Like he's talking about the weather. "It doesn't look fine."

"It's fine."

"Can I check? I'd feel a whole lot better knowing it's not broken. I know Steve will too." Namedropping Steve gets the kid's attention. "You don't have to do anything or go anywhere. I know some first aid. Bucky knows more. I just want to make sure you're not hurting."

Tony looks unsure when he admits, "It hurts."

"Okay." Sam nods. "Can you move it?"

Tony nods.

"Okay. Hold it out for me like this." He demonstrates by holding his arm straight out toward Tony.

Tony moves slowly. His face twitches but he doesn't show any obvious sign of pain.

"I'm going to feel your arm now, just to make sure nothing's broken, okay? You say the word and I'll stop. And let me know if any place I touch hurts. Got it?"

Tony nods again. Sam keeps his movement slow, telegraphing what he's going to do before he does it. This close, the bruises form obvious hand prints. Sam almost feels sorry for whoever did that. Steve's going to have a whole lot to say to them. Some of it might even involve words.

"Does this hurt?" He feels Tony's wrist. Tony nods. The bones are intact but there's swelling. Sam moves down Tony's arm. The only sign that the kid's in pain is the tears welling in the kid's uncovered eye. He doesn't make a sound. He doesn't even start crying. It's unnatural.

The door bursts open, startling them both. Tony jerks back. His feet come up and he curls into a ball on the couch with his arm safely hidden and his head pressed against his knees. Steve's wet and a little wild in the eyes. Sam gets in Steve's face before he can say anything.

"Calm down," Sam whispers. "He doesn't need you scaring him."

Steve nods. He straightens, pulling on that Captain persona that made him so effective in the field.

"Tony?" Steve asks. He picks up the bag of peas from the floor. "Hey, Tony, it's me. Steve. You're okay. What happened? You're supposed to be in the tower. Are you hurt?"

Tony uncurls slowly. "I'm sorry."

Sam holds the door open for Bucky. The pizza boxes are a little wet but not too bad. Should be salvageable. Bucky meets Sam's eyes as he rushes in. He's concerned. Tony being here has some bigger meaning that Sam's not privy to.

"What are you sorry for?" Steve's got one hand on Tony's back, rubbing soothing circles against the kid's skin.

"I looked up your address. I know... I'm not supposed to have access but I... I didn't know where else to go. It's stupid. I can leave. I should leave."

Tony starts to stand up but Steve pulls him right back down. "It's okay, Tony. I'm glad you came. I can drive you back if you want."

"I don't want to go back." Fresh tears roll down Tony's face. "I... He'll be there and he... I can't..."

"You can stay here for a bit," Steve says quickly, desperately. "Why don't we stay here and talk, okay?"

Tony hesitates before nodding slowly.

Steve takes Tony's right hand in his, his touch so very gentle. His thumb rubs a circle on the back of Tony's hand. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Tony presses his face to Steve's chest and sobs.

Bucky jerks his head toward the kitchen. Sam follows him. Curiosity is killing him but he doesn't want to pry. Bucky glances at Tony from behind the island. He's frowning. There's something besides concern in his expression.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asks softly.

Bucky turns and sets the pizza on the stove. Sam opens the boxes to check on it. The pizza's slid a bit but it's perfectly edible. Bucky pulls the spare handgun from under the sink and loads it from the bullets in the junk drawer.

"What the hell is going on?" Sam hisses. "Do I need to get my gun?"

"Not sure," Bucky says. He pulls out plates and piles a couple slices on each. There's a plate for Sam, Steve, and Bucky. The fourth plate makes Bucky hesitate.

"That's Howard's kid," Bucky says, so low Sam barely catches it. "Someone tried to kill him yesterday."

Sam blinks. "Howard?" Then the names click—Howard, Tony—and he nearly brains himself on the cabinet spinning to take a look. "Stark!?"

"Shh." Bucky swats him.

It doesn't look like Tony—Tony freaking Stark!—notices. Sam presses against Bucky to whisper, "I have so many questions. Who the fuck beat up Tony Stark? Who's trying to kill him? Why is he here?" As soon as the words are out, Sam remembers something else. He drops his voice even lower. "I thought you hated him?"

Bucky shrugs. He puts a piece of pepperoni and a piece of Hawaiian on the spare plate and fiddles with the placement. "Hate's a strong word."

Sam rolls his eyes. "I thought you didn't like him."

Bucky sighs and turns. He leans back against the counter. Sam mirrors him. "Yeah," Bucky says. "I guess. I did. I mean, the media..." Bucky's gesture encompasses all the rumors and celebrity gossip that's aired about the infamous Tony Stark. "And then the mess at the club, but he's not what I thought and then..." Bucky flicks his fingers at the living room. He dips his head toward Sam. "Something's going on, Sam. Something bad. I have my guesses and they're awful if I'm right."

Bucky takes the pizza in to the other room.

"Here." Tony looks up at them with eyes red from crying. "Didn't know what you liked so I grabbed one of each." Bucky sets the plate on the table instead of handing it to Tony.

Is that a thing? Not handing Tony anything? Sam thinks it's a thing but he's pretty sure he's not going to like the reason behind it.

"Thank you," Tony says, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Steve's pressed against the kid's side like he's trying to meld them together. "Tony's staying here tonight," Steve announces. Then he remembers he lives in a shared apartment and looks up at them with a mixture of sheepish and determined. "If that's all right?"

"'S fine," Bucky answers for them. Something strange passes across his face and he adds, "It's all good, I mean."

Sam raises an eyebrow in question but Bucky shakes his head. Later, then.

Tony's fingers twist the fabric of the borrowed sweats. "I don't want to impose."

He's acting nothing like the spoiled rich kid the media makes him out to be. Sam guesses this is why Bucky changed his tune. It's hard not to look at the kid and want to coddle him. "You're welcome to stay as long as you need."

Steve picks up Tony's plate of pizza and holds it out for him. "Why don't you try eating something? You'll feel better. We can talk more in the morning, okay?"

Tony nods and takes the plate. Apparently Steve gets a pass on whatever makes Tony averse to being handed things.

They fall quiet as they tuck into the pizza. Bucky puts on a replay of last week's Mets game. Sam can't help making mental calculations on what they'd need to do to fit a fourth person in their small apartment. Just in case.

* * * * *

Tony's head is drooping before too long. Steve takes the empty plate away. He comes back with a glass of water and a bottle of Advil. Tony dry-swallows three pills and then downs the water. Sam pulls Bucky away with mention of clean-up.

"Come on." Steve taps Tony's shoulder. Tony rises obediently and shuffles after Steve. 

"I'll take the first watch," Bucky says. Steve nods his gratitude.

They detour to the bathroom. They keep a spare toothbrush under the sink. Steve hands that off to Tony and leaves to tame the mess that is his bedroom. He's taken advantage of being out of the military to devolve into not quite a slob but nowhere neat either. He tosses his dirty clothes into a single pile and sniffs his sheets. They don't smell bad. He'd feel better if he changed them but Tony seems like he's about to fall over and Steve doesn't want to make Tony wait.

He triple checks the lock on the window and secures the blackout curtains so no one can see in. His thigh holster goes back on. He pulls the gun safe out from under his bed. His service pistol is loaded and secured with the safety on.

He turns when he hears Tony knock on the doorframe. Tony's staring at Steve's gun. "I'm putting you in danger being here. I'll... I'll go back."

"Hey." Steve forces a smile. "No. You're fine. This is one of the safest places you could be."

He stands and nudges the safe back under the bed with his foot. He doesn't tell Tony that he's staying with three of the world's best fighters or that he's already notified SHIELD and has a team of agents spread over the block, not counting the half dozen or so that live in the building.

"I hope this is okay. I know it's not much, but you'll be safe here, I promise." Tony shuffles over to sit on the edge of the bed. Steve barely resists the urge to tuck Tony in. "I'm going to be right outside on the couch, okay? Do you need anything before I go?"

Tony looks at him with wide, guileless eyes. "Stay?" There's more emotion in that single word than any conversation he's had with Tony before tonight.

It's the bad idea to end all bad ideas. "I shouldn't."

"Please?"

Steve has a strong will but it's not enough to withstand the desperate sadness in Tony's voice. He perches on the bed next to Tony, leaving a careful foot of space between them. "Tony, I..." He sighs. How can he put this without hurting Tony's feelings? "I'm flattered, really, but you're seventeen and I'm almost thirty."

"I'm eighteen in a month."

Steve smiles. He takes Tony's hand in his and squeezes. "I know. And I get that a month isn't a lot in the cosmic span of things, but I can't. You're too young and technically you're my boss and Peggy will castrate me if she thinks I acted improperly."

Tony nods and pulls his hand away. "Just until I fall asleep?"

God, Tony sounds so very, very young.

"Okay," he says.

Tony smiles and crawls under the covers. Steve gives in to the urge to tuck him in. He sits with his back against the headboard and cards his fingers through Tony's hair. His free hand rests next to his holster.

"Steve?" Tony's voice is barely even a whisper.

"Yeah, Tony?"

Tony looks up at him with wide, wet eyes. "I'm scared."

Steve's hand stills for a second before he forces himself to continue the soothing motion. "You have nothing to be afraid of, Tony. I'll protect you. I swear. We'll go to SHIELD in the morning. It's the safest place in the world. Peggy will have Howard arrested. We'll catch whoever's after you. If you don't want to go back to the tower, we'll find you somewhere safe..."

Tony looks away. He bites his lip.

"What's wrong?"

Tony opens his mouth, then closes it. His hand clenches the fabric of Steve's shirt. "Mom tried to leave."

Steve frowns. He's not sure he wants the answer, but he asks anyway, "What?"

Tony curls in on himself. He presses his face against Steve's leg. He's trembling as bad as before but Steve has no idea what to do to comfort him.

"She was leaving him," Tony whispers. "That night..." Fresh tears roll down his cheeks. "She was coming to get me. They both were. Jarvis was going to help us but then they...." Tony's shaking. "I waited. I waited all night with my bags packed but in the morning the principal came and he said they were dead. There were men from SI at the school. They took me back to the mansion and Howard said... He said..."

Steve gently untangles himself so he can slide down to the bed and pull Tony into a crushing hug. Tony presses against Steve's chest.

"He... He threatened me. If I ever left, he said... God, he's going to kill me. He'll kill me, Steve."

"I promise that won't happen. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll keep you safe. I promise."

Tony nods but he doesn't pull away. Steve holds him until his trembling stops and his labored breathing evens out. He holds Tony until he's lax with sleep. Steve stays, telling himself that Tony might wake up and need him. If he lingers and watches Tony sleep, well, no one else is there to catch him.


	7. Chapter 7

Steve jerks upright, snapping out of sleep before he knows what woke him.

"Sorry." Tony's voice is a whisper.

Steve blinks at him. It takes a minute to remember why he's sleeping on the couch. By the time he does, he also realizes that Tony's dressed and heading toward the door.

"Hey, wait." The blanket gets tangled between Steve's feet and he nearly topples over when he tries to stand up. "Where are you going? It's not safe. You can stay here until you're ready to go to SHIELD."

Tony hesitates for a moment before stepping into Steve's space. He leans his head against Steve's chest. He's wearing one of Steve's old army hoodies with one of Steve's t-shirts underneath. The clothes are too big by at least two sizes, but Tony wears them beautifully.

"Thank you. For letting me stay." Tony blushes. It's beautiful and fascinating and dangerous. "I'd probably have taken you up on that but Obie messaged me. I'm giving my first live weapons demo."

Tony's wide grin is completely genuine. Steve doesn't want Tony going anywhere near Howard but he knows Tony's been waiting for a chance to take credit for his work for years.

"I'm showing off the Jericho missile in front of a bunch of Generals. My name's going on the patents. Can you believe it?"

He frowns. "The Jericho?" The name sounds familiar. "You can't go back to the tower, Tony. Not after what you told me."

"I'm not." Steve must look as reluctant as he feels because Tony presses his hands flat on Steve's chest and looks up at him with wide, earnest eyes. "I swear I'm not. Obie packed me a suitcase. Dum Dum's outside in the car and he's going to take me straight to the airport. Obie's got the plane ready to go when we get there. Howard's in a board meeting all day. I won't be anywhere near him. He doesn't know," Tony insists. "Obie will keep me safe. He always has."

"The plane?" It finally clicks. The Jericho demonstration. Top brass from the army, navy, and air force were going to be there. SHIELD is sending a representative. "Tony, that's in Afghanistan."

Tony's smile falters. "Obie thinks it'd be good for me to leave town for a little bit."

"And go to an active warzone? Are you crazy? One of us should go with you." Steve turns to go to his bedroom. "I will. Let me get dressed and I'll..."

Tony tugs on Steve's wrist. He doesn't move and Steve can't go further without dragging Tony with him. "Steve, I'll be fine." Steve frowns. Tony smiles sheepishly. "Okay, not fine. I'll be safe. Obie always arranges a military escort for these things. He's always looked out for me. Rhodey's meeting us there and he won't let anything happen. I'll be safe as houses."

"Did you forget that someone tried to kill you yesterday? You told me you think Howard's going to kill you."

Tony winces. Steve belatedly realizes he'd been shouting.

"Sorry," Steve says. He reaches for Tony and very carefully pulls him in for a hug, giving Tony ample opportunity to pull away if that's what he wants. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted. I'm just worried, but if you think Stane will keep you safe then I respect your decision."

He's also going to find out who SHIELD is sending and put the fear of God in them.

Tony huffs a laugh against Steve's chest. "I'll be back in a few days. Maybe... Maybe we can go see Aunt Peggy then? We'll go right from the airport."

Steve brushes a kiss across Tony's forehead. Tony snaps his head up to look at Steve with wide eyes full of hope.

"Okay, Tony. As soon as you get back."

The smile Tony sends him is blinding. "Absolutely." Tony stretches up on his toes and kisses Steve on the cheek. It happens too fast for Steve to react. He's not sure what he would have done if he could.

Tony waves and heads out the door. Steve watches him leave with a growing sense of foreboding. 

"What the hell was that?"

Steve turns to find Sam and Bucky hovering in the doorway to their bedroom. He opens his mouth but he has no idea how to explain any of that. "I need to talk to Peggy."

They stare at each other for another minute before Bucky rolls his eyes and gestures impatiently toward Steve's room. "Well, get some clothes on. I'll call Natasha and have her shadow Stark Sr."

"Thanks." Steve runs to his room and throws open his closet. He needs to get to SHIELD Headquarters right now.

* * * * *

Steve walks into Peggy's office without knocking. She's alone, thankfully, and merely raises an eyebrow when he shuts the door behind him.

"Something on your mind, Captain?"

"Tony's being abused." He doesn't mean to blurt it out like that, but it's all he can think about since Tony left.

Peggy sets aside her tablet and leans back in her chair. He has her full attention now. "Explain."

Steve runs a hand through his hair. There are two armchairs in front of Peggy's desk but he can't sit right now. He needs to pace.

"It's been going on for a while now, I think," Steve says. "I noticed bruising the first time we met but he said..." Steve sighs. How stupid was he for believing the obvious lie? "He said he was clumsy and I know that's the most obvious fake excuse there is, but I didn't know him at the time and it seemed plausible with all the heavy equipment but then I caught him after Howard left and-"

"Howard?" Peggy stands up so fast her chair rolls back and hits the wall. Her hands are clenched, knuckles white. She makes an obvious effort to calm down and flattens her palms on her desk. "You had better have proof for the kind of accusation you're making, soldier."

Steve stills. Howard is one of Peggy's closest friends. For her, this accusation must seem so far out field to be impossible but she hasn't been around Tony like he has.

"Peggy." His voice is soft. He sympathizes. He really does, but his primary concern is Tony's well-being. "Tony told me. He came to my apartment last night with a black eye and a sprained wrist. He hacked SHIELD for that information, by the way. Might want to have that looked at. I've never seen him like that, Peggy. He was terrified. He thinks..."

Steve takes a deep, steadying breath. He looks Peggy straight on and says, "He thinks Howard had Maria killed."

Peggy drops her head. Her hair obscures her face and Steve has no idea if he's fired or if she's about to go rip Howard's balls off. Papers wrinkle under her hands. Her fists tremble. When she looks up, there's fire in her eyes and a promise of vengeance.

"Where's Tony now?"

He knows he's going to get flack even as he says it. "He left on a business trip with Stane. The Jericho demonstration. I've already contacted Agent Bartz."

"He... What!?" She chucks a cup of pencils at him. "He's been targeted by HYDRA and you let him leave the country!?"

Peggy presses a button on her landline. She barely waits for the line to pick up before saying, "Coulson, find Tony Stark. I want eyes on him immediately. Have Jackson and Benson meet me in the garage." She looks up at Steve and says, "I'm going to arrest Howard Stark."

* * * * *

Stark Industries is chaos. Howard Stark's arrest has the entire company reeling. SHIELD agents have swarmed in like ants, going over every inch of the mansion and areas of the tower Howard used. Peggy insists on no rock uncovered. Steve personally leads the agents that will be going over Tony's workshop.

He's never been in the workshop without Tony. He's never even seen Tony enter a keycode. The door doesn't open automatically and all three master codes he's been given fail.

"Should we break the glass?" Agent Connors asks.

"No." He doesn't want to break anything of Tony's. Tony's the victim here.

"If I may," JARVIS's voice comes out of nowhere. The other agents startle but Steve is getting used to it. Mostly. "I might be of assistance. What is your purpose for entering Master Stark's workshop?"

That seems like an awfully complex question for a computer to ask but he's seen Tony have full conversations with the AI. "We know Howard has been hurting Tony. If there's any evidence of what Howard has done, we need to find it."

There's a sound almost like a sigh. "Finally," JARVIS says. The door opens.

"If I may direct your attention to the terminals." The screens come to life. DUM-E and U roll over. The tilt of their cameras mimics curiosity. "You will find all the evidence you need on Master Stark's secure server."

Steve stares at the wall of information in front of him. There are videos, voice recordings, hospital records, bank statements. There's a list of everyone who knew about the abuse and looked the other way.

He drops into Tony's chair. "Can you send this to SHIELD?"

"Of course, Captain."

The other agents hover in the doorway, afraid to move past the robots.

"Is there anything else we should look for?"

"Sir left no physical evidence. He does not know I kept digital records."

Steve frowns. How could Tony's computer do something Tony didn't know about? He'll have to ask when Tony gets back.

He stands and ushers the other agents back into the hallway. "Thank you, JARVIS."

"But, sir," Agent Connors says, "the workshop..."

"Is Tony's, not Howard's. I'm not going to tear it apart without his permission."

The elevator door closes. They start moving without them touching anything. The number for the floor with the security office is lit.

JARVIS is pretty impressive.

Agent Coulson is waiting for him. "Your team has been reassigned. Colonel Carter is waiting at base to brief you."

"What?" Steve knew this assignment would end but he didn't think it'd be so soon. There's still a traitor to find. Who's going to protect Tony? "Why?"

There's a sharp edge to Coulson's usually placid façade. "Stark's been compromised."

The world falls out from underneath him. Steve grabs the edge of the closest desk to steady him. "Tony?" He's never wished more ill will on Howard than he does in that moment. Anything to keep Coulson from telling him Tony's been injured.

Coulson nods. Ice stabs through Steve's heart. "He's been taken. Your team is on retrieval. Colonel Carter has the details."

Steve nods. "Right." He can do this. This is something he knows, something he's done hundreds of times with predominately successful outcomes. The movements are familiar, easy. Bucky and Dum Dum are standing at the ready. "Let's go."

* * * * *

"What do we know?" Steve asks the second his team is assembled in the SHIELD conference room.

Peggy flicks her fingers. Several documents fill the screen on the wall behind her. There are emails, financial records, videos. "Agent Romanov intercepted a communique sent to Stane's office. While waiting on confirmation of the translation, she dug into Stane's files and found a series of encrypted messages between Stane and the terrorist group known as the Ten Rings."

She taps her tablet and one of the videos zooms to the forefront. A half dozen men stand around a figure tied to a chair. They pull the black bag off the figure. That's Tony. Shit. He looks bad. Real bad. Steve's not even aware of rising to his feet until Bucky and Jim pull him back into his chair.

Peggy cuts off the video. "Stane paid these men to kill Tony Stark." Steve clenches the table so hard the wood cracks. Peggy looks right at him and says, "He's alive. They recognized the target and took him prisoner instead, to build them weapons. We have time. We will bring him home alive."

"When do we leave?" Steve asks.

"As soon as you suit up. I've got an Air Force Lt. Colonel Rhodes waiting to liaise with your team in Afghanistan."

Steve's on his feet. His team follows. He's going to get Tony back and kill anyone who stands in his way.


	8. Chapter 8

It's been six weeks. This is the eighth cell they've hit. The Ten Rings have taken to Afghanistan's cave system like rats. The intel in this area is shoddy at best. Half the time they're not even sure they're going after the Ten Rings or another terrorist group in the area. There are plenty to choose from but Tony's only being held by one.

It's been too long. He doesn't know if Tony is still alive. They would have heard, right? Someone would have told them.

The sound of gunfire is his anthem. He knows he's never going to fully abandon the persona of Captain America but he'd hoped to only pull it out for publicity. He thinks of Tony every time he fires his weapons. Every bullet is a step closer to finding Tony.

"Steve!" Bucky's shout carries over the noise. He waves and disappears into a cave. Steve leaves Jim and Gabe to cover the entrance and follows. The gunfire outside fades, replaced by echoing shots from ahead. Bucky grabs Steve's vest and pulls him at a run through the tunnel. It gets colder the deeper they go. Jacques crows over the comms seconds before a large explosions shakes the ground, sending pieces of rock falling from the ceiling.

It's quiet. The gunfire has stopped.

Bucky pulls Steve into a torture chamber. There's blood on the floor and on the walls, most of it dried except around the tub of water in the center of the room. There are four members of the Ten Rings dead on the floor, but Steve's attention fixes on the boy coughing up water next to James Falsworth and another man.

"Tony." Steve breathes the name like a prayer. He drops to his knees but goes no further. He's not sure where is safe to touch, if at all. Tony's skin is a mix of black, purple, and yellow from bruising. His chest is a mass of half-healed cuts and one nasty incision going down his torso.

"He needs a hospital," the stranger says. "I did what I could with what we had, but the damage is extensive."

"What happened?"

"He was hit by a Stark missile. I removed the shrapnel but there's damage to his heart and lungs. He needs a hospital."

Steve nods. They don't have a stretcher with them and they can't get a vehicle close enough until they clear the last of the cell. "Is he safe to move?"

"As safe as he's going to be."

"Okay. James, let's get him on his back. I can take him from there." The second James tries to move Tony, Tony screams. James jerks back. The stranger takes his place, cupping Tony's face in his hands and turning Tony to look at him.

"You're safe," the stranger says in a low, crooning voice. "We're free. You're safe, Tony. The men you said would come for you are here." The stranger looks up at him. "I assume you are Steve?"

"How did you-" He's in his Captain America outfit. The stranger shouldn't recognize him.

"He talks about you a lot. He did not mention you were famous. They would have done worse, had they found out." The stranger turns back to Tony and tilts Tony's head toward Steve. "Look, Tony. Your friend is here."

It takes far too long for the fear and panic to fade from Tony's eyes enough for Tony to see him. Steve pulls of his mask. He needs Tony to know he's here.

As soon as recognition hits, Tony sobs. His fingers twitch toward Steve but that's as far as Tony seems able to move.

"I've got you, Tony," Steve says as puts his mask back on. He slides his arms under Tony. "I've got you. I'm taking you home." Tony's eyes roll back as soon as Steve lifts him. It's probably for the best. They've got a rough path out of here.

"I'm Yinsen, by the way," the stranger says.

"Nice to meet you." Bucky takes point leading them out of the cave. Steve can't stop mentally cataloging Tony's injuries. As soon as SHIELD finds whatever hole Stane crawled into, Steve is going to bring a world of hurt. He's still furious that Stane used Tony's kidnapping to get away.

He doesn't want to step outside of the cave with Tony while active combat is going on, but they can't stay. Every gunshot makes Steve flinch. He thinks this is it, this is the bullet that kills Tony.

They make it to their vehicles without getting hit. Dum Dum curses when he sees Tony then helps Steve get Tony and Yinsen into a Humvee. Gabe's in the driver's seat. Bucky's voice carries over the radio, organizing the rest of the team's withdrawal. The vehicle jerks into motion the second all four doors are closed.

"Rhodes is waiting for us," Dum Dum says, shouting to be heard over the noise of the road and fading combat. "Evac to the Hellicarrier."

"Have medical on stand-by." He looks down at the too-pale man stretched across the floor. "Let's get him home."

* * * * *

"Steve?"

He shoots upright, brain coming back online in seconds. He squeezes Tony's right hand and plasters on his biggest smile. "Hey, Tony. You're awake. How are you feeling?"

Tony tilts his head to face Steve. His eyes are unfocused, likely the effect of the massive amount of painkillers he's on. "Hurts."

"I know, sweetheart. It's going to hurt for a while, I'm afraid. The doctors have you on some pretty strong stuff right now but it can only do so much."

Tony's sudden smile is the best thing he's seen in weeks, but he has no idea what caused it.

"What?" he asks. His own smile shifts into something more genuine.

Tony licks his parched lips and coughs when he tries to speak.

"Right. Let's get you some water." He feels like he's tearing off a limb when he lets go of Tony's hand, but he's not going far. He can still reach Tony if he needs and he only needs a minute to fetch a bottle of water from the cabinet.

"I'm going to adjust the bed for you, okay? Let me know the second anything hurts."

Tony nods. Steve presses the control to raise the head of the bed. He goes slowly, stopping every inch to make sure it's not hurting Tony. Once Tony's in close enough to a sitting position, Steve opens the bottle and holds it steady while Tony takes small sips.

"I know you want more," Steve says, "but you gotta go slow."

They get through half the bottle before Steve pulls it away. Tony's attempt at a pout is marred by his smile.

"Sweetheart?" Tony asks and oh, shit, he'd said that. Out loud.

Steve's face burns and he looks down at the bottle in his hands. "Sorry. I shouldn't have. I just... I mean..."

Tony's hand slides jerkily across the covers. "Steve?"

"Yeah." He bites the inside of his cheek to stop any other stupid pet names from coming out.

"I like it."

Steve's blush only gets worse. He sets the bottle aside and gives into the urge to hold Tony's hand again. "Okay. We can talk about it later. Now's not really the time and you're young and-"

"Steve?" Tony waits until Steve stops babbling. "I'm eighteen."

Oh. Tony's birthday is May 29th. It's June. "I'm sorry we didn't get to celebrate."

"Make it up to me later." Tony turns his hand so he can squeeze Steve's fingers. It's weak, but it's still movement. He takes in the SHIELD medical room they're in. "I dreamed Rhodey was here."

"He is." Tony's eyes go wide. "It was his turn-" It sounds really stupid when he says it out loud. Natasha said as much when she was visiting earlier. Tony tugs Steve's hand and he reluctantly finishes. "We're taking turns sleeping."

Tony snorts then tenses and grabs his chest. "Ow." His fingers trail over the bandages under the hospital gown. "What happened?" Steve's face must do something concerning because Tony quickly adds, "While I was gone. I remember the-" Tony's face goes pale and he stops. His eyes lose focus. He doesn't move, doesn't blink. The only sign he's still alive is the beeps on his heart monitor that are getting closer and closer together.

"Tony?" He squeezes Tony's hand. Nothing happens. "Tony?" he tries a little louder. No response. He sits on the bed and takes Tony's face in both hands. "Come on, Tony, darling, sweetheart."

Tony blinks and he's back. His heartbeat's still fast but steady. No nurses come charging into the room so he thinks Tony's okay. He presses the call button just to be safe.

"Hey," Steve says. He brushes his thumbs over Tony's cheeks. "Hey, you're safe. I'm here."

Tony's eyes fill with tears. Steve leans forward into an approximation of a hug. He's very careful not to put any pressure on Tony's chest.

"Ma'am, you can't go in there." Gabe's voice carries through the closed door.

Steve sits up. He can see Gabe's shoulder through the small window in the door and a flash of red hair beyond.

"I need to see Mr. Stark," the woman says. Her voice is slightly high-pitched but authoritative.

"You don't have clearance."

"This is official Stark Industries business. It can't wait any longer."

"Ma'am-"

Tony tugs on Steve's sleeve. Steve turns. Tony nods to the door.

"Let her in," Steve says, loud enough for Gabe to hear. He moves back to his chair and rests his hand on the bed next to Tony. Tony immediately takes hold.

Gabe opens the door for a tall redhead made even taller by sharp heels. She has a messenger bag slung over one shoulder and a tablet cradled to her chest. "Good afternoon, Mr. Stark, Mr. Rogers." She nods to each of them in turn. Her heels clack against the floor tiles. She holds out her hand. "I'm Virginia Potts." Tony eyes her hand like it's a viper. She pulls away. "I'm from Stark Industries' legal department. I'll be your assistant until such time as you choose a replacement."

She taps the tablet screen and turns it to face Tony. "I need your impression."

"I like you," Tony says. "You're sharp."

Her lips quirk in a repressed smile. "I need your fingerprint. For the transfer of ownership."

Tony stares, mouth open. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Mr. Stark and Mr. Stane's criminal status forfeits their share of Stark Industry holdings. Mr. Stark's shares fall to you, leaving you with the controlling interest in the company."

Tony turns to Steve. "What!?"

Steve gives Ms. Potts an apologetic smile. "I haven't had a chance to fill him in."

She steps forward and pushes the tablet into Tony's hands. "The legal ownership of the company has been in flux for weeks. I need your approval now."

"Right." Tony presses his thumb in the appropriate spot on the tablet. Ms. Potts flips through three more documents that require Tony's authorization before finally taking the tablet back.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. When would be a good time to discuss your transition into the CEO position?"

Tony sucks in a sharp breath and turns to Steve with wide, panicked eyes. "I can't be the CEO. I just turned eighteen."

"Hey, hey." Steve cuts in before Tony's breathing gets too erratic. "Let's deal with this one day at a time." He turns to Ms. Potts. "How about next week?"

Ms. Potts shakes her head. "I'm afraid it can't wait that long."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow is fine. One o'clock?"

Steve looks to Tony who nods. "Great."

"Can I call you Pepper?" Tony asks out of the blue.

Ms. Potts allows more of her smile through. "Why don't we stick with 'Ms. Potts' for now? Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes, that will be all, Ms. Potts."


End file.
